The idea of fake is understood here in a wider sense, as a critical thinking tool, as an instrument for approaching – equally with deference and irreverence – the established models of the art history, of the media and popular culture.

This exhibition is conceived as a possible site of reflection upon the fate of the “fake” nowadays; as an opportunity to challenge and question the actual relevance of a concept with so many variables, meanings and interpretations. Pop Art’s serialism, appropriationism, simulations, mash-up, cut-and- paste, or simply copy-paste are different manifestations of the same idea of fake. Such a diversity proves that working with “fake” – as a concept and as a means – is not linked to a specific trend, technique or time period. It is rather the mark of an attitude and a way of doing things.

“Fake” means in this context not only copy or surrogate, that is, an entity that loses its aesthetic, conceptual or functional identity once entered into the circuit of reproductions and simulations. “Fake” can suggest also the possibility of the original, however controversial this proposal might be—hence the subtitle “Limited edition”. Thus, the way in which these works engage and relate to the model is equally subversive and constructive, critical and conciliatory.

The “sources” to which the works of this exhibition make reference are appropriated, diverted, plagiarized, or parodied with various visual and tactical means: from video to object, to photography, performance and online intervention. In this sense the idea of fake is seen not only as a working instrument confined to the art field but one that addresses directly the larger context of culture, society and politics. Therefore, the imperative of the title points precisely to the evident actuality and implicit diversity of such a theme.

Horea Avram