Entanglement: the Ambivalence of Identity
14 September–19 November 2011
Press view:
13 September, 10am–12 noon, talk at 11am
Preview:
13 September, 6.30–8.30pmIniva at Rivington Place
London EC2A 3BA
www.iniva.org
Cultural identity, belonging and affiliation are discussed with a mixture of seriousness, humour and irony. This poignant selection of sculpture, film, installation and photography shows a fascination with how the artists see themselves and how others see them.
Simon Fujiwara‘s work is a constant process of scripting his own biography through fiction writing, performance and set-installations where absent characters become protagonists in his circular histories. In the video and installation Artist’s Book Club: Hakuruberri Fuin no Monogatari he performs a role in a spoof TV arts programme, discussing the language used in Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn in an analysis of cross-cultural confusion and fetishisation.
Anthony Key‘s sculptures use food to playfully unpick certain ‘Chinese’ stereotypes. A new installation for the window incorporates 8,000 chopsticks drawing attention to restaurants and take-aways around the UK. Dave Lewis combines photography with ethnographic research as a premise for his richly textured installations. He invites the viewer to consider their own sense of place, belonging and identity through classifications based on family, race, religion and the State.
Nina Mangalanayagam, a recent postgraduate from the RCA, explores the fluidity of identities looking at family relationships and national identity. In the photographic series Homeland she comments on traditional absurdities and the struggle to fit in. Navin Rawanchaikul‘s work focuses on local identity and its shifting dynamics within globalised culture. In the installation Hong Rub Khaek (Khaek Welcome) he interviews Indian migrants living in Chiang Mai, Thailand, about making a home in a new culture.
The accompanying programme of events includes a curator’s tour with Tessa Jackson on 15 October at 6.30pm (the gallery is also open late until 9pm), and an artists’ tour with Anthony Key and Nina Mangalanayagam on Saturday 12 November at 3pm.
Visitor information
Rivington Place opening hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday: 11am–6pm, Late Thursdays: 11am–9pm, Saturday: 12noon–6pm, closed Sundays and Mondays. Admission free. Nearest Tubes: Old Street/Liverpool Street/Shoreditch High St. For further information about Rivington Place contact: +44 (0)20 7749 1240 info@rivingtonplace.org, www.rivingtonplace.org www.iniva.org
Press
For further information and images please contact:
Clare Roebuck, Head of Communications croebuck@iniva.org or tel 020 7749 1247
Sheena Balkwill, Press & Marketing Co-ordinator sbalkwill@iniva.org or tel 020 7749 1246
About Iniva
Iniva (Institute of International Visual Arts) engages with new ideas and emerging debates in the contemporary visual arts, reflecting in particular the diversity of contemporary society. We work with artists, curators, creative producers, writers and the public to explore the vitality of visual culture. Iniva programmes at Rivington Place, off-site and virtually.
(www.iniva.org)
