PÓŁPRAWDA | HALF–TRUTH

Nevin Aladağ, Anatoly Belov, Geta Brǎtescu, Braco Dimitrijević, Stanisław Dróżdż, Petra Feriancová, Vladimír Houdek, Hristina Ivanoska, Pravdoliub Ivanov, Mi Kafchin, Šejla Kamerić, Genti Korini, Eva Koťátková, Katarzyna Krakowiak, Zofia Kulik, Nino Kvrivishvili, Piotr Łakomy, Vlad Nancă, Paul Neagu, Ioana Nemes, Paulina Ołowska, Roman Ondák, Cristian Răduţă, Stepan Ryabchenko, Slavs and Tatars, Iza Tarasewicz, Little Warsaw

Curated by Nathalie Hoyos, Rainald Schumacher and Ewa Kozik

The Museum of Sculpture at Królikarnia presents works from Art Collection Telekom, one of the few international collections with a clear focus on contemporary art from Central and Eastern Europe.

The artists partaking in the exhibition come from countries sharing the difficult history of having been under communist rule as well as the task of recovering their national identity or shaping it anew. Over the past ten years, as more and more countries around the world are beginning to approach globalization with distrust, and the proposed remedy for these current problems is based on a return to conservative values, the differences between the East and the West are gaining new meaning.

The works of art on display in the exhibition PÓŁPRAWDA | HALF–TRUTH often refer to historical events that have taken place over the last 70 years, but also to the individual experiences of the artists, which inextricably links them to specific geographic regions. Concurrently, the works are commenting on more universal and recent issues. The exhibition adverts to topics, amongst numerous others, associated with traditional local architecture, which—in the second half of the 20th century—was driven by the aesthetics of Socialist Realism (the series of works "Rosetta" by the Romanian artist Ioana Nemes); the question of whether the participation of citizens in general elections does in fact have an impact on politics and on the possibility to implement real change (the work Ballot Box by the Bosnian artist Šejla Kamerić). The artists challenge the strengthening of the government’s power and question impunity it has achieved through religious sanctioning (the work PraySway by the Eurasian collective Slavs and Tatars); or the boundaries of the freedom of expression and identity building expressed in body movement (the works Stiletto by the Turkish artist Nevin Aladağ).

The focus of Central and Eastern European countries on the Western art continues to influence the lack of sufficient promotion of artists from peripheral regions, as attention towards the strict cultural centre of Western Europe continues to take precedence. PÓŁPRAWDA | HALF–TRUTH recalls an alternative model of writing art history, which shows that local modern as well as contemporary art was inspired by Western centres of modern culture; however, their meanings are not limited to Western interpretations. We focus on the immediate past and present of Central and Eastern European countries by attempting to understand regional values and significances in the centre—periphery relationship.

The title of the exhibition comes from Pravdoliub Ivanov's work, which draws attention to the relativism of historical memory. A banner with the word “Half-Truth” written on it in Bulgarian was carried through the city of Sofia. The word, cut horizontally, thus showing only half of the letters, looked like a political slogan in a foreign language, rousing controversy among the city residents. The other part of “Half-Truth” was displayed inside of an exhibition space. Thus, allowing one piece to exist simultaneously in two spheres: the one of the art world and the one of public space. This work stems from the conviction that there are as many truths, as there are contexts. The slogan is always written in the language of the country in which it is being displayed, underlying its local frame of reference.

Press contact: Alicja Latkowska
alatkowska@mnw.art.pl