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5 Artists about war
Like many people, I've been bouncing back and forth since 24 February: between obsessive doom scrolling on Twitter, news apps and TikTok, and trying to effectively zoom out, to see the bigger picture, the larger geopolitical strokes. As a historian, I was trained to see the overarching connections, but for the past three weeks I've been living from notification to notification, just like everyone else. Three million Ukrainian refugees have now fled the war and have to stand by as their country is bombed into oblivion. While there are plenty of elements that differ fundamentally from a few decades ago — including Europe as a united front, an overrepresentation of the far-right rather than the far-left, the presence of a solid infrastructure for a streamlined information war, a 'Silicon Curtain', China as powerful player and an orange man threatening to run for the US presidency again — it still feels like a Cold War, or worse, looms closer every day. People are hoarding iodine tablets and non-perishable food and I am sure I’m not the only one who has violent nightmares, fueled by the Wikipedia page of Ramzan Kadyrov (!) and news images of hanged Russians, nuclear power plants under fire, crying children who are crossing borders completely alone and lifeless bodies in the snow. Still, I don't think a news diet is a solution, because all the fake news has proven the importance of reliable news — and war correspondents are literally risking their lives right now to provide us with information. At the same time, it feels incredibly selfish to be overly concerned with the potential consequences for our own situation. Still, I think the existential crisis that many of us are currently experiencing is ultimately very human. In this collection, five artists delve deeper into the theme of war and everything that comes with it.
2 Éléments multimédias ᛫ 9 Oeuvres disponibles
5 Spectacles ᛫ 1 Points forts ᛫ 1 Recommandations
Cristina Lucas
The Spanish artist Cristina Lucas knows how to tell a powerful story with simple, compelling images. For her video installation "Unending Lightning" (2015-), which is part of the collection of Museum Arnhem and was shown during Manifesta 12, she collected over 7 hours of images of air raids that have been carried out all over the world since 1912. An on-screen counter adds up the staggering number of victims. In a series of embroidered works, she records these historical data on textiles. This artwork, for instance, shows a visualisation of aerial bombing of civilians in the Middle East up to 2018.
(Represented by tegenboschvanvreden)
The Spanish artist Cristina Lucas knows how to tell a powerful story with simple, compelling images. For her video installation "Unending Lightning" (2015-), which is part of the collection of Museum Arnhem and was shown during Manifesta 12, she collected over 7 hours of images of air raids that have been carried out all over the world since 1912. An on-screen counter adds up the staggering number of victims. In a series of embroidered works, she records these historical data on textiles. This artwork, for instance, shows a visualisation of aerial bombing of civilians in the Middle East up to 2018.
(Represented by tegenboschvanvreden)
3 Éléments multimédias ᛫ 12 Oeuvres disponibles
2 Spectacles ᛫ 0 Points forts ᛫ 0 Recommandations
Susan Philipsz
Scottish artist Susan Philipsz compiled a living archive of sound recordings of war-damaged musical instruments, from various British and German museum collections. The stories behind these instruments vary: for example, one of the instruments was used by a 14-year-old boy during the Battle of Waterloo, while others were found when the Alte Münz bunker was cleared at the end of the Second World War. Some instruments come with a detailed history, while others are so damaged by bullets that it remains a guess what happened exactly. Because all instruments bear clear signs of wear, there is a certain human presence, reinforced by the fact that they are wind instruments that require a human breath. It is almost impossible not to imagine the person who played the instrument. Philipsz is not concerned with making music, but rather with the sounds these battered instruments can still produce.
(Represented by Ellen de Bruijne Projects)
Scottish artist Susan Philipsz compiled a living archive of sound recordings of war-damaged musical instruments, from various British and German museum collections. The stories behind these instruments vary: for example, one of the instruments was used by a 14-year-old boy during the Battle of Waterloo, while others were found when the Alte Münz bunker was cleared at the end of the Second World War. Some instruments come with a detailed history, while others are so damaged by bullets that it remains a guess what happened exactly. Because all instruments bear clear signs of wear, there is a certain human presence, reinforced by the fact that they are wind instruments that require a human breath. It is almost impossible not to imagine the person who played the instrument. Philipsz is not concerned with making music, but rather with the sounds these battered instruments can still produce.
(Represented by Ellen de Bruijne Projects)
1 Éléments multimédias ᛫ 27 Oeuvres disponibles
31 Spectacles ᛫ 0 Points forts ᛫ 0 Recommandations
Raquel Maulwurf
The Spanish-Dutch artist Raquel Maulwurf is fascinated by the almost unimaginable destructiveness of humanity, for example through war and ecological destruction. She visualized various historical bombings, as can be seen here in "Night raid on Tokyo 9 III 1945, 2021". For this, Maulwurf applies charcoal and pastel to (often large-scale) museum cardboard, showing us beauty and horror at the same time. By omitting colour, she adds to the drama and impact of her images. In her work, Maulwurf manages to capture something essential and monumental. As a viewer you wonder: why do people want to destroy things so badly?
(Represented by Livingstone Gallery)
The Spanish-Dutch artist Raquel Maulwurf is fascinated by the almost unimaginable destructiveness of humanity, for example through war and ecological destruction. She visualized various historical bombings, as can be seen here in "Night raid on Tokyo 9 III 1945, 2021". For this, Maulwurf applies charcoal and pastel to (often large-scale) museum cardboard, showing us beauty and horror at the same time. By omitting colour, she adds to the drama and impact of her images. In her work, Maulwurf manages to capture something essential and monumental. As a viewer you wonder: why do people want to destroy things so badly?
(Represented by Livingstone Gallery)
3 Éléments multimédias ᛫ 23 Oeuvres disponibles
6 Spectacles ᛫ 0 Points forts ᛫ 0 Recommandations
Nour-Eddine Jarram
On paper, the huge influx of refugees should remind us of the people who fled Syria in 2015 for the same reason: their homeland was bombed and was no longer safe. But the European responses differ like night and day. It highlights the painful reality that, broadly speaking, we are more eager to understand people who look like us. The Moroccan-Dutch artist Nour-Eddine Jarram appeals to our humanity: in his work he aptly captures the profound powerlessness of refugees who face an uncertain future.
(Represented by Galerie Maurits van de Laar)
On paper, the huge influx of refugees should remind us of the people who fled Syria in 2015 for the same reason: their homeland was bombed and was no longer safe. But the European responses differ like night and day. It highlights the painful reality that, broadly speaking, we are more eager to understand people who look like us. The Moroccan-Dutch artist Nour-Eddine Jarram appeals to our humanity: in his work he aptly captures the profound powerlessness of refugees who face an uncertain future.
(Represented by Galerie Maurits van de Laar)
4 Éléments multimédias ᛫ 79 Oeuvres disponibles
6 Spectacles ᛫ 0 Points forts ᛫ 0 Recommandations
Sarah Maple
Activism is indispensable today and we see countless brave Russians risking 15 years in prison for their acts of resistance: from news workers to protesters on the street. British artist Sarah Maple's layered work not only points to dubious legitimacies for war — the George W. Bush administration lied about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq — but the mirror also forces you to (literally) look at your own behaviour: what can you do?
(Represented by Koch x Bos Gallery)
Activism is indispensable today and we see countless brave Russians risking 15 years in prison for their acts of resistance: from news workers to protesters on the street. British artist Sarah Maple's layered work not only points to dubious legitimacies for war — the George W. Bush administration lied about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq — but the mirror also forces you to (literally) look at your own behaviour: what can you do?
(Represented by Koch x Bos Gallery)