Esiri Erheriene- Essi lives and works in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
"The John Baldessari’s quote: ‘Historical mispronounced sounds like hysterical’ can best describe the theme and concern of my paintings. With this as a basis, I am constantly attempting to disrupt the confidence and assumptions of a reader who is familiar with history, thus, confusing their sense of logical sequence. I do this by challenging, displacing, appropriating and, in some cases, playing with the order of both collective and intimate strands of history, memory, myths, and culture of the past and present. In my alternate universe, I pit the musical 1960s group ‘Diana Ross and the Supremes’ against a repeated backdrop of Baader Meinhof/RAF member Brigitte Mohnhaupt, even though there is no evidence to suggest a connection. I paint figures who were lynched in late 19th and early 20th century America and Europe, but on my canvases, they are liberated through the simple act of eradicating the instrument of the noose and the faces of their tormentors. I remove Warhol superstar Joe Dallesandro out of film sequences and place him in an edited solitary setting on canvas. I continuously hinder former president John F Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy moments before the shots in 1963 - so in my narrative time is frozen and the assassination never actually takes place.
This logic is based on reading encyclopedias and referential yearbooks and seeing the historical narrative transcribed and sequenced in chronological order. Meaning, situations, events and images of the past that have no other relation than the fact that they are historical references of the same time, are being connected and placed side by side. So in my painting universe RAF members were inspired by the music of the Supremes, and the Supremes number-one hit song ‘You keep me hangin’ on’ was triggered by atrocities committed by the RAF. I don't know for sure, but these 'almost connections' and new possibilities of readings of the past is what I'm concerned with and what intrigues me the most.
Above all I am fascinated by a continued investigation of mass media, pop cultural iconography, appropriation, and mythology, as well as repetition of imagery. I am obsessed by the gaps, the silences, the disturbances and the assault in the historical narrative. As I am curious about the infinite possibilities of new readings. Thus, history is imperative to my practice but I am taking these references and facts and rewriting things just a bit." Esiri Erheriene-Essi recently graduated from the prestigious post graduate residency De Ateliers in Amsterdam. In 2006 she finished a master in Fine Arts at the University of East London, after completing her bachelor in Media Studies at the same university. Her work was exhibited in several galleries in London and Amsterdam.
http://esiri-essi.tumblr.com/
"The John Baldessari’s quote: ‘Historical mispronounced sounds like hysterical’ can best describe the theme and concern of my paintings. With this as a basis, I am constantly attempting to disrupt the confidence and assumptions of a reader who is familiar with history, thus, confusing their sense of logical sequence. I do this by challenging, displacing, appropriating and, in some cases, playing with the order of both collective and intimate strands of history, memory, myths, and culture of the past and present. In my alternate universe, I pit the musical 1960s group ‘Diana Ross and the Supremes’ against a repeated backdrop of Baader Meinhof/RAF member Brigitte Mohnhaupt, even though there is no evidence to suggest a connection. I paint figures who were lynched in late 19th and early 20th century America and Europe, but on my canvases, they are liberated through the simple act of eradicating the instrument of the noose and the faces of their tormentors. I remove Warhol superstar Joe Dallesandro out of film sequences and place him in an edited solitary setting on canvas. I continuously hinder former president John F Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy moments before the shots in 1963 - so in my narrative time is frozen and the assassination never actually takes place.
This logic is based on reading encyclopedias and referential yearbooks and seeing the historical narrative transcribed and sequenced in chronological order. Meaning, situations, events and images of the past that have no other relation than the fact that they are historical references of the same time, are being connected and placed side by side. So in my painting universe RAF members were inspired by the music of the Supremes, and the Supremes number-one hit song ‘You keep me hangin’ on’ was triggered by atrocities committed by the RAF. I don't know for sure, but these 'almost connections' and new possibilities of readings of the past is what I'm concerned with and what intrigues me the most.
Above all I am fascinated by a continued investigation of mass media, pop cultural iconography, appropriation, and mythology, as well as repetition of imagery. I am obsessed by the gaps, the silences, the disturbances and the assault in the historical narrative. As I am curious about the infinite possibilities of new readings. Thus, history is imperative to my practice but I am taking these references and facts and rewriting things just a bit." Esiri Erheriene-Essi recently graduated from the prestigious post graduate residency De Ateliers in Amsterdam. In 2006 she finished a master in Fine Arts at the University of East London, after completing her bachelor in Media Studies at the same university. Her work was exhibited in several galleries in London and Amsterdam.
http://esiri-essi.tumblr.com/
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ESIRI ERHERIENE-ESSI
1982 Born in London, England,
Lives and works in Amsterdam, The Netherlands
EDUCATION:
2007-2009 Post-graduate Institute, De Ateliers, Amsterdam, NL
2004-2006 MA (with Merit) Fine Art, University of East London, London, UK
2001-2004 BA (Hons) Media Studies, University of East London, London, UK
2000-2001 Camberwell College of Art (foundation), London, UK
EXHIBITIONS:
2018
The dogs bark, but the caravan goes on(solo), Galerie Ron Mandos, Amsterdam, NL
2017
ZOALS JIJ EN IK (LIKE YOU AND ME), Art Chapel, Amsterdam, NL
What’s New, Acquisitions, Museum Arnhem, Arnhem, NL
2016
What We Have Overlooked, Framer Framed, Amsterdam, NL
ROEMERS DRIELING (III),De Nieuwe Bibliotheek Almere, Almere, NL
ROEMERS DRIELING (II), Bibliotheek Den Haag, The Hague, NL
Roemers Drieling in Nieuwspoort, International Press Centre Nieuwspoort, The Hague, NL
2015
Museumnacht 2015 - "Parallel Stories - The Whistleblower and the Dreamcatcher", Arti et Amicitiae, Amsterdam, NL
ROEMERS DRIELING, Centrum voor Beeldende Kunst, Amsterdam, NL
The Usual Suspects (solo), Galerie Ron Mandos, Amsterdam, NL
Art Amsterdam 2015, Galerie Ron Mandos booth, Amsterdam, NL
'Levenslang', het criminele brein ontleed, museum Het Dolhuys, Haarlem, NL
ZIJ WAS EENS... TETEM Kunstruimte, Enschede, NL
2014
Don’t Support the Greedy (solo), Museum Arnhem, Arnhem, NL
'Levenslang', het criminele brein ontleed, museum Het Dolhuys, Haarlem, NL
2013
Open Studio, Nordisk Kunstnarsenter Dalsåsen, Dale i Sunnfjord, Norway
Amsterdam Drawing 2013, Stichting Nieuwe Dakota, Amsterdam, NL
Jättekatastrof, Mitt Möllan, Malmö, Sweden
2012
Open Studio, Nordisk Kunstnarsenter Dalsåsen, Dale, Norway
Big Show 7, Silas Marder Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY, USA
2011
PERFORMANCE (solo), Galerie Ron Mandos, Amsterdam, NL
De Volkskrant Beeldende Kunst Prijs 2011, Stedelijk Museum Schiedam, NL
What’s New 2, Acquisitions, Museum Arnhem, Arnhem, NL
2010
VOLTA6, Ron Mandos booth, Basel, Switzerland
What’s New, Acquisitions, Museum Arnhem, Arnhem, NL
Art Rotterdam, Ron Mandos booth, Rotterdam, NL
2009
I Don’t Like Nostalgia Unless it’s Mine (solo), Galerie Ron Mandos, Rotterdam, NL
Offspring, De Ateliers, Amsterdam, NL
Koninklijke Prijs voor de Vrije Schilderkunst (Royal Awards for Painting) (1st Prize), Koninklijk Paleis, Amsterdam, NL
2008
Test (solo), De Ateliers, Amsterdam, NL
2007
Art In Mind, The Brick Lane Gallery, London, England
Disposable Fetish, Bow Arts Trust, London, England
2006
Memory & the Stream of Time, APT Gallery, London, England
Final Exhibition, UEL MA Fine Art, London, England
Student Show, UEL AVA, London, England
2005
Works On Paper, RK Burk Gallery, London, England
End of year show, UEL AVA, London, England
RESIDENCIES & AWARDS
2017 Development Budget, Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst, The Netherlands
2016 Werkbijdrage Bewezen Talent, Mondriaan Fonds, The Netherlands
2013 Mondriaan Fonds, (Investment project Artist) The Netherlands
2013 Nordic Kunstnarsenter Dalsåsen, Dale, Norway (residency)
2012 Nordic Kunstnarsenter Dalsåsen, Dale, Norway (residency)
2012 Fonds BKVB, (Work Budget), The Netherlands
2011 Fonds BKVB, (Work Budget), The Netherlands
2010 Starter Stipendium, Fonds BKVB, NL
2009 Koninklijke Prijs voor Vrije Schilderkunst, Amsterdam, NL
COLLECTIONS:
Fries Museum, Leeuwarden, NL
Museum Arnhem, Arnhem, NL,
Drake Collection, Wassenaar, NL
Private collections in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Iceland, the United States, Belgium, South Africa and Switzerland
PUBLICATIONS:
2017 http://www.inzuid.amsterdam/index.php/2017/01/06/art-zuid-neemt-zuid-ste...
2016 What We Have Overlooked, 08/02/2016 | FEATURE - Vincent van Velsen http://www.metropolism.com/nl/features/24198_what_we_have_overlooked
2014 ‘Don’t Support the Greedy’, authors: Marlene Dumas, Esiri Erheriene-Essi, Mirjam Westen and published by Museum Arnhem, ISBN 978-90-72861-52-8
‘Strange Fruit: Esiri Erheriene-Essi’, Koen Kleijn, De Groene Amsterdammer, nr. 25, 2014, p. 50
https://www.groene.nl/artikel/strange-fruit
de Verdieping Trouw, NL, 23/09/2014, p. 4
‘Vooroordelen verpakt in felle kleuren’, Sandra Smets, NRC Handelsblad, 25 april 2014
https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2014/04/25/vooroordelen-verpakt-in-felle-kleuren-1369265-a1164692
‘Studio visit: Esiri Erheriene-Essi’, Floor van Luijk, Metropolis M (online only): http://metropolism.com/features/studio-visit/english, 2/09/2014
2013
De Volkskrant newspaper NL, 19/09/2013, Kunst: Drawing Amsterdam, p 22
2012 "Uitgelicht: Schilderkunst in Nederland: Generatie 2.0", Braat, Manon, Kunstbeeld, nr. 5, 2012, p. 42
2011 “Amsterdam”, Elephant: The Arts & Visual Culture Magazine, issue 8, Autumn 2011, p 184
De Volkskrant newspaper, NL 18/02/2011
http://www.volkskrant.nl/beeldende-kunst/over-esiri-erherienne-essi-ik-houd-van-haar-commentaar~a1869945/
2010 “New Talent”, Blend, van der Does, Bieneke, issue 47, jan/feb 2010, p 102, NL
2009 (Catalogus), Koninklijke Prijs voor Vrije Schilderkunst, 2009, p 14-17, NL
Offspring 2009, Amsterdam, De Ateliers, p 33 – 40, NL
‘Signalement: Esiri Erheriene-Essi’, Spijkerman, Sandra, Kunstbeeld, nr. 12/1, pp 34-37
OTHER
2015
Artist lecture/teaching, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK (February 2015)
2014
‘Marlene Dumas: The Power of Photography & The Power of Painting’, artist lecture, 23 Nov 2014, Teijin Auditorium, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, NL
[http://www.stedelijk.nl/en/calendar/exhibition-close-up/marlene-dumas-the-power-of-photography-the-power-of-painting]
2016
Artist talk, 'Event: Farewell to the hermetic monoculture', Framer Framed, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
https://framerframed.nl/en/projecten/lecture-farewell-to-the-hermetic-monoculture/
2017
Artist lecture, Read My World Festival 2017 "Black USA, Literature of the Resistance", Tolhuistuin Amsterdam/Framer Framed, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
1982 Born in London, England,
Lives and works in Amsterdam, The Netherlands
EDUCATION:
2007-2009 Post-graduate Institute, De Ateliers, Amsterdam, NL
2004-2006 MA (with Merit) Fine Art, University of East London, London, UK
2001-2004 BA (Hons) Media Studies, University of East London, London, UK
2000-2001 Camberwell College of Art (foundation), London, UK
EXHIBITIONS:
2018
The dogs bark, but the caravan goes on(solo), Galerie Ron Mandos, Amsterdam, NL
2017
ZOALS JIJ EN IK (LIKE YOU AND ME), Art Chapel, Amsterdam, NL
What’s New, Acquisitions, Museum Arnhem, Arnhem, NL
2016
What We Have Overlooked, Framer Framed, Amsterdam, NL
ROEMERS DRIELING (III),De Nieuwe Bibliotheek Almere, Almere, NL
ROEMERS DRIELING (II), Bibliotheek Den Haag, The Hague, NL
Roemers Drieling in Nieuwspoort, International Press Centre Nieuwspoort, The Hague, NL
2015
Museumnacht 2015 - "Parallel Stories - The Whistleblower and the Dreamcatcher", Arti et Amicitiae, Amsterdam, NL
ROEMERS DRIELING, Centrum voor Beeldende Kunst, Amsterdam, NL
The Usual Suspects (solo), Galerie Ron Mandos, Amsterdam, NL
Art Amsterdam 2015, Galerie Ron Mandos booth, Amsterdam, NL
'Levenslang', het criminele brein ontleed, museum Het Dolhuys, Haarlem, NL
ZIJ WAS EENS... TETEM Kunstruimte, Enschede, NL
2014
Don’t Support the Greedy (solo), Museum Arnhem, Arnhem, NL
'Levenslang', het criminele brein ontleed, museum Het Dolhuys, Haarlem, NL
2013
Open Studio, Nordisk Kunstnarsenter Dalsåsen, Dale i Sunnfjord, Norway
Amsterdam Drawing 2013, Stichting Nieuwe Dakota, Amsterdam, NL
Jättekatastrof, Mitt Möllan, Malmö, Sweden
2012
Open Studio, Nordisk Kunstnarsenter Dalsåsen, Dale, Norway
Big Show 7, Silas Marder Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY, USA
2011
PERFORMANCE (solo), Galerie Ron Mandos, Amsterdam, NL
De Volkskrant Beeldende Kunst Prijs 2011, Stedelijk Museum Schiedam, NL
What’s New 2, Acquisitions, Museum Arnhem, Arnhem, NL
2010
VOLTA6, Ron Mandos booth, Basel, Switzerland
What’s New, Acquisitions, Museum Arnhem, Arnhem, NL
Art Rotterdam, Ron Mandos booth, Rotterdam, NL
2009
I Don’t Like Nostalgia Unless it’s Mine (solo), Galerie Ron Mandos, Rotterdam, NL
Offspring, De Ateliers, Amsterdam, NL
Koninklijke Prijs voor de Vrije Schilderkunst (Royal Awards for Painting) (1st Prize), Koninklijk Paleis, Amsterdam, NL
2008
Test (solo), De Ateliers, Amsterdam, NL
2007
Art In Mind, The Brick Lane Gallery, London, England
Disposable Fetish, Bow Arts Trust, London, England
2006
Memory & the Stream of Time, APT Gallery, London, England
Final Exhibition, UEL MA Fine Art, London, England
Student Show, UEL AVA, London, England
2005
Works On Paper, RK Burk Gallery, London, England
End of year show, UEL AVA, London, England
RESIDENCIES & AWARDS
2017 Development Budget, Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst, The Netherlands
2016 Werkbijdrage Bewezen Talent, Mondriaan Fonds, The Netherlands
2013 Mondriaan Fonds, (Investment project Artist) The Netherlands
2013 Nordic Kunstnarsenter Dalsåsen, Dale, Norway (residency)
2012 Nordic Kunstnarsenter Dalsåsen, Dale, Norway (residency)
2012 Fonds BKVB, (Work Budget), The Netherlands
2011 Fonds BKVB, (Work Budget), The Netherlands
2010 Starter Stipendium, Fonds BKVB, NL
2009 Koninklijke Prijs voor Vrije Schilderkunst, Amsterdam, NL
COLLECTIONS:
Fries Museum, Leeuwarden, NL
Museum Arnhem, Arnhem, NL,
Drake Collection, Wassenaar, NL
Private collections in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Iceland, the United States, Belgium, South Africa and Switzerland
PUBLICATIONS:
2017 http://www.inzuid.amsterdam/index.php/2017/01/06/art-zuid-neemt-zuid-ste...
2016 What We Have Overlooked, 08/02/2016 | FEATURE - Vincent van Velsen http://www.metropolism.com/nl/features/24198_what_we_have_overlooked
2014 ‘Don’t Support the Greedy’, authors: Marlene Dumas, Esiri Erheriene-Essi, Mirjam Westen and published by Museum Arnhem, ISBN 978-90-72861-52-8
‘Strange Fruit: Esiri Erheriene-Essi’, Koen Kleijn, De Groene Amsterdammer, nr. 25, 2014, p. 50
https://www.groene.nl/artikel/strange-fruit
de Verdieping Trouw, NL, 23/09/2014, p. 4
‘Vooroordelen verpakt in felle kleuren’, Sandra Smets, NRC Handelsblad, 25 april 2014
https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2014/04/25/vooroordelen-verpakt-in-felle-kleuren-1369265-a1164692
‘Studio visit: Esiri Erheriene-Essi’, Floor van Luijk, Metropolis M (online only): http://metropolism.com/features/studio-visit/english, 2/09/2014
2013
De Volkskrant newspaper NL, 19/09/2013, Kunst: Drawing Amsterdam, p 22
2012 "Uitgelicht: Schilderkunst in Nederland: Generatie 2.0", Braat, Manon, Kunstbeeld, nr. 5, 2012, p. 42
2011 “Amsterdam”, Elephant: The Arts & Visual Culture Magazine, issue 8, Autumn 2011, p 184
De Volkskrant newspaper, NL 18/02/2011
http://www.volkskrant.nl/beeldende-kunst/over-esiri-erherienne-essi-ik-houd-van-haar-commentaar~a1869945/
2010 “New Talent”, Blend, van der Does, Bieneke, issue 47, jan/feb 2010, p 102, NL
2009 (Catalogus), Koninklijke Prijs voor Vrije Schilderkunst, 2009, p 14-17, NL
Offspring 2009, Amsterdam, De Ateliers, p 33 – 40, NL
‘Signalement: Esiri Erheriene-Essi’, Spijkerman, Sandra, Kunstbeeld, nr. 12/1, pp 34-37
OTHER
2015
Artist lecture/teaching, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK (February 2015)
2014
‘Marlene Dumas: The Power of Photography & The Power of Painting’, artist lecture, 23 Nov 2014, Teijin Auditorium, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, NL
[http://www.stedelijk.nl/en/calendar/exhibition-close-up/marlene-dumas-the-power-of-photography-the-power-of-painting]
2016
Artist talk, 'Event: Farewell to the hermetic monoculture', Framer Framed, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
https://framerframed.nl/en/projecten/lecture-farewell-to-the-hermetic-monoculture/
2017
Artist lecture, Read My World Festival 2017 "Black USA, Literature of the Resistance", Tolhuistuin Amsterdam/Framer Framed, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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