29 august 2024, Flor Linckens
Preview Unseen: Nominees for the Meijburg Art Commission 2024: 2/5 Anna Fabricius
Meijburg & Co and Unseen have proudly presented the Meijburg Art Commission since 2015. Each year, artists participating at Unseen are invited to submit work relating a theme. Out of these proposals a shortlist of five artists is selected, whose work will be exhibited in the Meijburg Lounge at Unseen, and where a winner will be announced. The winner of the Meijburg Art Commission will receive an encouragement prize of 5.000,- and their artwork will be bought into the Meijburg & Co art collection.
The theme for the Meijburg Art Commission 2024 is ‘Prosperity’. The economic definition of prosperity is "a successful, flourishing, or thriving condition, especially in financial respects; good fortune". However, the ecological definition of the term is "the extent to which a species flourishes under certain circumstances". In recent years, those two different perspectives have become more fluid when considering our personal wellbeing and that of our society. What does it mean to flourish as a human, both individually and as a society? Is it merely about financial security, or do we also need to consider other factors, such as time for ourselves and for each other, the environment and culture, to truly thrive?
The five nominated artists for the Meijburg Art Commission 2024 are Anna Fabricius (TOBE Gallery), Klaas Kloosterboer (Ellen de Bruijne Projects), Lee-Ann Olwage (The Bridge Gallery), Melissa Schriek (Hama Gallery) and Gilleam Trapenberg (Galerie Ron Mandos).
Anna Fabricius explores the concepts of ‘group’ and ‘community’ in her work, investigating how these social structures are formed and what role the individual plays within a collective. She approaches these phenomena in a multifaceted way, capturing athletes, housewives, firefighters and workers in their everyday work environments. In earlier projects, Fabricius subtly uncovered the dynamics within these groups through improvised games and staged scenarios, either by removing them from their usual context or having them perform as if they were. These subtle interventions reveal individual differences, exposing the tensions between the collective and the individual. Through this approach, Fabricius invites the viewer to reflect on how social roles and expectations are constructed and sustained. She encourages us to consider the nature of human interaction and the often invisible forces that mold communities. Her work is a powerful plea for the recognition of the individual within the collective and the value of the subtle yet significant differences that define our humanity.
Fabricius’s practice, encompassing photography, video, mixed media, and text, focuses on the societal role of an activity that dominates much of our lives: work. She investigates how labour influences both our broader culture and our personal identities, with a particular emphasis on the often invisible contributions of migrant workers. These workers are vital to the functioning of modern society, yet their efforts are seldom acknowledged. Furthermore, as a society, we hold a distorted and fragmented image of this group.
For her series ‘Home is where work is', that earned her a nomination for the Meijburg Art Commission 2024, Fabricius spent a year exploring the social relationships of transnational families from Asia — families whose members are spread across different countries. Often, one or more family members work and live in another country, usually for economic reasons and as an investment in the future of those who remain at home. However, these individuals not only support their own families but also contribute to the societies in which they work. Despite their significant personal sacrifices and the care they provide, they often remain invisible and undervalued in their new environments. Yet their work is crucial in sustaining social structures and daily life. Instead of capturing these individuals in a documentary style, Fabricius creates staged scenarios that allow them to express their emotions, responsibilities and familial ties. These scenarios are visual reactions to the selfies sent by workers to their families, reflecting the deep emotional connections and the complex dynamics of care and communication within these transnational families. The series is accompanied by a 20-minute video in which the subjects share their dreams and (broader) perspectives on prosperity.
Fabricius was nominated for the Meijburg Art Commission 2024 for her incisive exploration of the invisible labour that underpins our global economic prosperity and the tensions that arise within the globalised and capitalist system. Her work highlights the fluid and multidimensional aspects of prosperity, demonstrating that the wealth of a small group often comes at the expense of a larger one. She underscores the importance of a broader definition of prosperity, one that is not only financially driven but also socially and ethically informed.
Anna Fabricius was born in Budapest in 1980. In 2015, she earned her doctorate from the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, where she currently teaches the next generation of artists. Her work has been exhibited at the Ludwig Museum, the Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center, the MODEM Center for Contemporary Art, the Hungarian National Gallery and the Kassák Museum in Budapest. She has also participated in various residency programs in Vienna, New York and Taipei.
