Artists: Burak Delier, Guy Ben-Ner & Hito Steyerl
Curator: Simona Nastac
March 5 – May 22, 2015
You, Me and Every Thing in Between aims to investigate the underlying economies of our material existence and art production in the 21st century, highlighting unresolved issues of freedom and social cohesion in an increasingly interconnected world, shaped by systems that erode the very human values they were supposed to emancipate. It also seeks to question how we resist, conform to, or try to change the forces that push us to be possessed, and how contemporary art gives expression to these varied forms of engagement with the entangled reality of today.
Burak Delier (n. 1977) is an Istanbul-based artist who explores the relationship between capitalism and contemporary artistic practices. He uses guerrilla art tactics and absurdist humour, and also employs the strategies of the very neoliberal systems with which he disagrees. His work is often produced with others, whether through performances, or becoming part of his research to produce the artworks themselves. Delier has had solo exhibitions in London (INIVA) and Istanbul (PILOT and OUTLET) and taken part in group exhibitions across Europe. His work was also shown at the Taipei Biennial in 2008 and 2010 and the Istanbul Biennial in 2005, 2007 and 2013.
Guy Ben-Ner (n. 1969) ) has exhibited internationally and in 2005 represented Israel at the Venice Biennale. Since the early 90s, Ben-Ner has filmed a series of videos starring himself and his family, focusing on the blurring limits between public and personal life and the complex relationship we create with the environments we inhabit. The videos wittily mix the home-made and a refined range of philosophical, and art historical references. Ben-Ner had solo exhibitions at the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati; Center for Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv; Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal; and the National Gallery of Canada’s L’Espace Shawinigan. His work has also been exhibited at Manifesta 10 in St Petersburg, MOMA New York; P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, New York; and the Shanghai Biennale. He lives and works in Tel Aviv.
Hito Steyerl (n. 1966) is one of the most critically acclaimed artists working in the field of video today. Her work focuses on issues such as the mass proliferation and dissemination of images and knowledge brought on by digital technologies. She takes the digital image as a point of departure for entering a world of war, capital flows, digital detritus and class warfare, which has shifted from the virtual to an unknown reality that we are only beginning to understand. Steyerl participates regularly in major exhibitions such as Documenta, Manifesta, as well as biennials in Venice, Taipei, Istanbul and Gwangju. Her solo exhibitions have been hosted by the Art Institute of Chicago, the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, the ICA in London and many others. She is a professor at the University of Art (UDK) in Berlin.
Simona Nastac is an independent curator and critic currently based in London. She is committed to socio-critical art and context responsive practices, forever looking for unexpected outcomes able to shake the world. In a gentle way. She has curated high-level exhibitions for biennials, festivals and galleries in London, New York, Saint Petersbug, Prague, Shanghai and Bucharest. From 2006 to 2013, she was Head of Arts at the Romanian Cultural Institute in London, where she managed a wide range of art, fashion, architecture, design and film projects, in collaboration with Tate Modern and Britain, Victoria and Albert Museum, Camden Arts Centre and the Royal Academy of Arts. At present, she is the visual art curator of Kingston Welcomes Korea Festival that will take place in London in August 2015.