UnSaid is a cross cultural curatorial collaboration
In collaboration with OnCurating Project Space, curators; Maria Sorensen, Lara Sutter,
Lynn Guo, Frances Melhop + Melhop Gallery, Evgenia Kostinskaia, and Zahira Mozafari present their latest exhibition
UnSaid.
UnSaid
“I am attracted to ellipsis, to the unsaid, to suggestion, to eloquent deliberate silence …”
Louise Glück in her 1995 essay „Disruption, Hesitation, Silence“
The group exhibition features work from artists in authoritarian and democratic countries and is a joint reflection on censorship and repressive mechanisms at play. Featuring artists from countries and backgrounds as diverse as Iran, Belarus, Turkey, Russia, China, Switzerland, Lithuania, Italy and US, it dwells on the issues of self-censorship, power dynamics and things we often don’t say or simply can’t. The works on display in the exhibition speak of the aesthetic power of erasures, actively transforming them to take control over actions that could leave one feeling powerless. Through photography, textiles, video, poetry, paintings, and installations the artists turn these enforced silences and erasures into thought provoking, bold, artistic statements and offer space for public debate and intimate exchange.
Featuring artists from countries and backgrounds as diverse as Iran, Belarus, Turkey , Russia, Lithuania, China and the US the artists collectively raise complex questions of freedom of expression and mechanisms of control present in the act of censorship.
Maksim Shved’s photo series take a playful look at the phenomenon of Zhes-art, that is art created by municipal authorities tasked with painting over political graffiti on building facades. By trying to cover up, hide, and thus censor urban space, public service workers not only unconsciously become participants in the creative process, but also draw even more attention to the hidden messages.
While artists in authoritarian countries face challenges and often direct danger for expressing themselves openly, others in democratic countries can still relate to the control mechanisms at play, be it censorship by social media companies that alone decides what constitutes art and what is pornography or restrictive abortion legislature aiming to control women’s bodies which is contextualized in Frances Melhop’s poetic textile work.
Serhat Ertuna’s satirical look at the despot in the centre of the censoring efforts places Erdogan firmly in the subject of the picture. His other works thematize the place of a woman in Muslim societies , her freedom in relation to her body and her identity in the straitjacket of a society‘s established power. In Zhanna Gladko’s unsettling and eerie video art the chants of “ Uhodi/ Resign” can still be heard from the time Belarusian people protested on the streets.
Sergei Prokofiev’s artwork is a veiled criticism of the language of Russian state power. Julia Cimafiejeva's powerful poem translated both in German and English asks what it is like for a female poetess in patriarchial Belarusian society and Simona Ripkauskaite video looks at what freedom is and how much of it are we willing to sacrifice.
Iranian photographer Katayoun Karami's powerful shredded photos of recent protests remind us of Iranian people wish to rid themselves of their despotic regime and Lynn Gao’s poetic installation offers a timeless mediation on unspoken truths, the exchange of ideas, and the shared experiences that bind society together.
Scrawl Shredded photographs
Staring at the machine, shredding out the photos,
It feels like here and this very moment a truth or a lie is being slaughtered
Uh…how familiar they look,
Like my shattered memories, Revolution, Hostage,
American Embassy invaded,
And rooms filled with torn apart documents, Now why is it so terrifying to
put them back together and blow life into them again?
Chop-chop, I have to finish them No…I’m in hurry, I’m out of time.
Katayoun Karami
Iran
She was born in December 1967 in Tehran, where she currently lives and works. In her artistic endeavors, she embraces the use of commonplace language and symbols for presentation, while also seeking to transcend the traditional boundaries of the medium through experimental methods. Occasionally, Katayoun attempts to break free from the frameworks of her chosen medium, allowing each project to find its unique mode of expression. Utilizing mixed media, she selects different media and techniques to achieve maximum conceptual unity and aesthetic appeal. As a conceptual artist, Katayoun’s work often revolves around socially-themed projects, reflecting common experiences in today’s world and offering poignant commentary on the social condition of women. She aims to convey irony through her art, inviting gallery viewers to reflect on their own experiences and carry something meaningful with them. Katayoun navigates her lived experience delicately, weaving irony into her artwork as an Iranian artist operating on the edge of fear in her current societal context.
What the Wall told me…
Photographs, printed in photographic paper. several sizes. The photo series draws attention to a phenomenon known as Zhes-art or communal art. Zhes in Belarusian and Russian refers to municipal state authorities who are tasked with maintaining buildings. This kind of art appeared as a result of the struggle against graffiti and street art inscriptions on the walls of the city. By trying to cover up, hide, and thus censor urban space, public service workers not only unconsciously become participants in the creative process, but also draw even more attention to the hidden messages. The presented fuprematist compositions reflect the current agenda for Belarus in 2020, when the struggle for freedom of expression and basic civil rights reached its historical peak, but faced brutal repressions.
Maksim Shved
Belarus
Maksim was born in Minsk, Belarus. After studying politics at the University he made a career change at 33 and began studying filmmaking. His debut documentary “Pure Art” premiered at Krakow film festival , won the best director at “ArtDocFest in 2019 and since then several prizes at world festivals. In August 2020 he was detained during the shooting of his documentary about presidential elections in Belarus. He turned this episode into the short documentary “What will we do tomorrow?” which premiered on the Guardian website. His works comprise documentary films and photo series.
Dispatches
Postcards, 12 different designs.
Dispatches is a postcard project organised by M HKA (Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp) within the framework of the Kyiv Biennial 2023. M HKA has invited 12 artists to each produce a postcard design that can be found at all the venues of the biennial and beyond. It is a modest call to send dispatches from the frontline of one’s own. dispatch: the sending of someone or something to a destination for a specific purpose. Visitors are welcome to take as many as they would like free of charge.
M HKA / Kyiv Biennial
Ukraine
Participating artists: Babi Badalov, Oleksandr Burlaka, Uliana Bychenkova, Davyd Chychkan , Jeremy Deller, Experimental Jetset, Mekhitar Garabedian, Shilpa Gupta, Iman Issa, Kaja Kusztra, Marina Naprushkina
Music video on covering up street art.
Return of Lilith
HD Video, 4 min
“The video was filmed in December 2020 on the day of the winter solstice, the day that symbolizes the victory of light over darkness when the line between the world of people and otherworldly forces almost disappears. The winter solstice gives rise to a new cycle. The score for the video was written by the composer Julia Mihaly as a part of the musical project “ Voices from Belarus”, the chants of Uxodi/Resign are heard which are to be understood in the context of 2020 Belarusian protests.
Zhanna Gladko
Belarus
Zhanna Gladko represents a young generation of Belarusian artists. She is a graduate of the Republican College of Arts in Minsk and the Department of Easel Graphics at the Belarusian State Academy of Arts. Gladko deliberately and simultaneously highlights and actualises various societal issues by exploring them through her private experiences and by means of photography, installations, text, video, painting and other visual techniques. She is currently in Safemuse art residence in Oslo, Norway.
Body of a Poetess
Audio file of the author’s reading in Belarusian with printed translation in German and English.
Julija Cimafiejeva
Cimafiejeva is a Belarusian poet, translator, and the author of four poetry collections, her poems have been translated into many languages and appeared in different projects, anthologies and magazines, including Poetry International, Literary Hub, Financial Times, Lyrikline, and others. Her recent poetry collection in English “Motherfield” ( a poet’s insistence on self-determination in authoritarian, patriarchal Belarus) came out in 2022.
Fireworks on the Swamp, 2020, video
Fireworks on the Swamp
HD video, 6 min, 2020
Sergei Prokofiev’s video art is a veiled criticism of the language of Russian state power. It shows the wild Russian nature in stark contrast to the turmoil that lurks beneath the fabric of Russian society. “During my last year at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Moscow I learned that fireworks were used by the Russian state power since the time of the Empire to communicate with the citizens, the people of Russia. You can imagine the grandiose fireworks of state celebrations, fireworks loaded in military cannons, that would also be used during war times. I decided to work with fireworks to invert this state language and use it for my own purposes to activate it in different landscapes to metaphorically liberate them from the Russian state’s power.”
Deserter
Hand printed on vintage paper 30 x 15cm 250gsm, burnt graphite plastic. 40 pieces. 2023 The deserter is a figure of absence. This is the one who left, betrayed, who is subject to punishment and oblivion. This is the one who survived and also the one who did not kill others.
Serge Prokofiev
Russia
Sergei Prokofiev shows the wild Russian nature in stark contrast to the turmoil that lurks beneath the fabric of Russian society.
“I learned that fireworks were used by the Russian state power since the time of the Empire to communicate with the citizens, the people of Russia. You can imagine the grandiose fireworks of state celebrations, fireworks loaded in military cannons, that would also be used during war times. I decided to work with fireworks to invert this state language and use it for my own purposes to activate it in different landscapes to metaphorically liberate them from the Russian state’s power.”
Absence 13, pre installation, hand embroidery on British Linen, 84” x 48” (213.4 x 122cm)
Absence #13
The Absence piece consists of an embroidered contour drawing of an empty female body. Floating outside the body are all of the parts we cannot show for various reasons. These parts are currently censored by social media and web platforms, or self-censored for safety and for other reasons. It is 7 feet tall and 4 feet wide, black cotton thread on British linen, with a full-scale empty female figure in the center.
The stitched figure is a salute to the 60’s 70’s Feminist icons who used their body as material for their artwork, in this case I am referencing Ana Mendieta and her spaces of bodily absence that she created in her work.
I am thinking about the advances for women made by the 60s and 70s Feminist artists and how the overturn of Roe versus Wade case in the USA in 2022, suggests we might be moving backwards, losing some of their hard-won victories, such as control of our own bodies. It is also quite endearing and lovely to be working with the photographs of these women's bodies who are imperfect, who haven't visually enhanced or reconstructed themselves, who haven't retouched the photographs of their performances, and who were very brave and wonderfully human.
Frances Melhop
New Zealand/USA
Frances is a multidisciplinary visual artist born in Christchurch, New Zealand, living and working at Lake Tahoe, Nevada. She works in tactile mediums such as photography, printmaking, hand embroidery, sculpture and oil paint questioning and framing her perceptions of the world. Frances is an award-winning photographer with a decades long career in fashion photography and has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions worldwide.
Excision Canvas, oil, threads, 100 x 100cm, 2024
Excision
The author addresses the issue that delegitimization and subsequent acts of erasure do not leave nothingness but destruction in their wake. This destruction and emptiness remain palpable and speak for themselves. Prohibition often has the opposite effect: it renders the forbidden even more visible, generates interest, empathy, and provides additional context. Prohibition reveals fear of a certain phenomenon, author, or work, and thus can only increase its influence. Together with aggression, it reveals the weakness of the prohibiting system.
Deorditsa K
Fluid national identity
A woman artist (she/her) who has anonymised herself by working under a pseudonym. The author identifies herself as a person with fluid nationality, without reference to specific countries. This can be seen as both self-censorship for her own safety and an act of protest against being labeled based solely on nationality. The artworks address themes of censorship and canceling by depicting the narrative of LGBTQ bans in the artist’s home country and the state’s use of the church for military propaganda.
Say nothing, own nothing and be happy
HD Video, duration 3 min, 2020
This video is about freedom. What is the true meaning of freedom? Does freedom mean happiness? Is it the ability to express yourself freely? Without having to pause, and think? Think twice about what you say or post on social media. In fear to offend someone or get fired from your job or kicked out of university. The list goes on. Just because you have an opinion. Where did the good old freedom of speech go? Freedom of expression. More often than not, we choose to say nothing. Do nothing.
Say nothing, own nothing and be happy.
Simona Ripkauskaite
Lithuania
Simona is a final year student in the media department at NCAD, Ireland. She is originally from Lithuania, the country that was suppressed by Soviets for many decades and is well aware of the importance of freedom. Simona utilizes her artworks as a platform to express her feelings towards current affairs and events happening in the world today. Stemming from a feeling and an urge to act out, she conveys those feelings through her artworks, through cheerful colours and dark humour, highlighting the issues faced everyday. It is opposed, satirical, absurd and humorous. Humour is inseparable part of our being. It helps us forget how bitter and mundane life can be, in dealing with the hard to swallow truths and overcoming oppressive powers.
Artwork : Shanglin Fu 上林赋 Installation / printed calligraphy on rice paper 350cm (Length) x 35 cm (Width) x 200 cm (Height)
Lynn Guo
China/Australia
Born in Inner Mongolia, Lynn is a Chinese-Australian artist, curator, and co-founder of TIAC (The International Arts & Culture Group), currently residing in Florence, Italy. With a foundation in classical figurative painting and a keen eye for contemporary art curation, Lynn's artistic endeavors delve into compelling narratives of inner exploration, driven by an insatiable curiosity. Within the vibrant landscape of contemporary art, she adeptly shapes a unique perspective that captures the essence of humanity. Lynn has showcased her work in numerous exhibitions across Europe, Australia, and China, including the prestigious first prize at the XIV Florence Biennale.
"Shanglin Fu" is an installation art piece that merges poetry and visual art. Measuring five meters in length, delicate printed Chinese calligraphy is suspended in the space, flowing from ceiling to floor like a cascade of words. Penned by Sima Xiangru over 1800 years ago, this poem reveals the beauty of nature while also critiquing political dynamics. It serves as a poignant reflection on the contemporary relevance of censorship, resonating with present-day challenges.
During the opening reception the installation has an interactive element, a second poem cut in pieces will have the calligraphy work drawn on by the artist in real time. Viewers are invited to participate by taking a piece of the poem away with them as a memento, only if all participants meet again in the future and reassemble the poem, will it be able to be read.
This action engages viewers as participants in the interplay between creative freedom and societal constraints. The ancient poet Sima Xiangru's profound reflections on nature's splendor and political metaphors offer timeless insights into power dynamics and governance, inviting contemporary contemplation on the enduring struggle for expression and societal norms.
Silence
Color Pencil On Handkerchief, 26.5x 26.5 cm, Frame 40x 40 cm
Ying Xu
China
Ying Xu was born in Shanghai and grew up in Beijing, where she attended Fine Arts School Affiliated to CAFA and earned BFA from CAFA. Her work seeks the resonance of the human body and consciousness, as well as the interactive relationship and alternative discourses between human, nature and time. Informed by Eastern philosophy and the notions of impermanence, Xu became increasingly attracted to the simplicity and the beauty of ephemeral things. She collects modest objects around her life and from nature and transforms them into something intriguing and thought provoking. Much of her recent work utilises the processes of drawing, watercolor painting, mending and sculpturing to explore ideas around connection and interconnection from body and space; mind and experience; individual and collective; temporality and eternity, make the invisible visible.
Jin, Jiyan, Azadî
Work based on a photograph from 1873. The 1873 photo, a black-and-white studio portrait, shows three married women from Diyabarkir, a Kurd (left), a Muslim (center) and a Christian/Armenian (right). It is perhaps a symbol of coexistence before the Armenian-Assyrian genocide in the Ottoman Empire in 1915. „One state, one nation, one fatherland, one flag!“, the slogan appears almost everywhere in today’s Turkey, inscribed in history books, on the walls of institutions, and even in large print on mountains. It inevitably calls for the destruction of differences and assimilation, and women are its first victims
Serhat Ertuna
Turkey
a Kurdish artist, was born in Turkey in 1981. He is an outspoken advocate for human rights and the rights of the Kurds. In 2015, he was granted refugee status in Switzerland. He studied Fine Arts at the Zurich University of the Arts, graduating with a master’s degree in June 2022. Since then, he has been working as a freelance artist. Serhat Ertuna deals with issues of equality, freedom and identity in today’s societies. His artistic work – mainly photographs, collages, videos and installations – questions migration, power and the administrative machinery.
Dancing queen
Material: porcelain, Edition: 100 pieces
The starting point of the artists examination is a battery powered plastic toy soldier that originally was designed to crawl on the floor. Baltensperger + Siepert first found that toy around 2012 when it was offered to them by a street vendor in Beijing. Later they found out that the same toy soldiers is available all around the world. The only thing that changes is the color and pattern of the uniform and the head of the soldier, that can be replaced with different heads of all kinds of ethnicities (according to the country where the soldier is sold). It is strange that this toy has such an appeal to young children. Obviously within this toy there is a universal truth about the attraction of war, paired with concepts of identity.
During research for a project in Russia, Baltensperger + Siepert once again came across one of these little soldiers and decided to strip the toy down to its conceptual foundation by creating an army of white porcelain soldiers with ambiguous heads and rifles. In the Installation, instead of crawling on the floor, the soldiers are put on their feet, but since they are made of porcelain they frozen in motion. The transformation that happens through the fragile material, takes the soldier out of the child like toy context. The symbolism of the militant gesture gets visually emphasized by shiny white surface while it is challenged by the fragile material at the same time.
Baltensperger + Siepert
Switzerland
Swiss based artists Stefan Baltensperger and David Siepert have been working collaboratively since 2007. With their artistic practice, Baltensperger + Siepert critically reflect on social, cultural, and political issues. They immerse themselves into systems, aiming to make them visible and to manipulate them. The focus of their work lies within the political’ and the understanding of cultural and social structures.
Speech(less)
Hand stitched textile flags in different sizes
These flags are based on anti war graffiti and signs found in Moscow. The three flags is a part of their ongoing project SPEECH(LESS) started in the end of 2022. Flags feature portraits of political prisoners in Russia and text-based pieces. SPEECH(LESS) means “mute“ or “having lost the gift of speech due to a traumatic event.” LESS is placed in parentheses because many courageous individuals in Russia are not silent and continue to fight. The Russian authorities try to convince everyone that the entire Russia supports the invasion of Ukraine. This is not true. Several laws introduced in Russia after invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 banned the use of words “war“ “invasion“ and “attack“ in relation to the conflict, and criminalized any critique of the Russian army, the state government and the president. Within a few months, people found themselves in a country where any passerby could submit a denunciation for the use of the word “war”, or even “peace”, leading to years of imprisonment. The artworks invite to reflect on each own experiences of propaganda and restrictions on freedom of speech, be that imposed by the state or popular public opinion.
Pomidor Art Collective
Russian
The group was formed in Moscow by the artist duo Polina and Maria. The artworks are characterised by their social orientation and exploration of the relationship between individuals and authoritarian states. In late 2022, artists relocated to the UK as it became impossible to express oneself and continue their practice due to the dramatic change in legislation in Russia severely limiting artistic freedom.
Meteora Bloccata dal Muro
Acrylic mixed with Ferrone earth pigments on canvas, 80 x 80cm A cosmic tale unfolds as the meteor, embodying the essence of humanity, endeavors to ascend from darkness to light. The impactful collision with an unyielding wall is dynamically portrayed, capturing the intensity of this celestial encounter. This cosmic struggle serves as a poignant metaphor, depicting the clash between individual expression and the formidable walls of censorship. “Meteora Bloccata dal Muro” stands as a testament to the enduring human spirit, resilient in the face of barriers, unwavering in its pursuit of enlightenment. The artwork encapsulates the struggles and triumphs, inviting contemplation on the universal quest for freedom of expression and the indomitable spirit that prevails against all odds
Gianni Bandinelli
Italy
Gianni is a Chianti native, a globally inspired artist known for seamlessly blending nature into his distinctive creations. With exhibitions across Italy, Gianni emphasizes nature, society, and beauty. In Greve in Chianti, he curated ‚Arti nel Bosco‘ (Arts in the Wood), highlighting environmental stewardship.
“QUI”
[Quiet Life EP], HD video/audio, 2021
Is the first part of an experimental project “Quiet Life”, which explores the beauty of darkness. A delicate interplay of light and shadow creates a mysterious atmosphere that is as oppressive as it is also enticing. Macro videography, electronic music composed with analogue synthesisers, and sombre aesthetics invite thoughts of ephemerality and melancholy. “Quiet Life” is an audiovisual work consisting of four videos and a four track music album.
Gleb Choutov
Belarus
is a media artist and musician born in Belarus. He studied at the Art Academies of Minsk and Düsseldorf as well as at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne. In 2004, he was the recipient of the Nam June Paik Award. In his work, he likes to synthesise abstract visuals and sounds to create strange, dark and deep audiovisual landscapes. His electronic music was released in the UK, the USA and in Switzerland, among other places. He lives and works in Düsseldorf, Germany.
“Confessione” e “Chiedo”
(“Confession” and “I Plead”)
Poems & Watercolor Paintings 20 Å~ 16cm In “Confession” and “I Plead”, poetry and watercolor paintings jointly venture into the unexplored realm of romantic erotica, challenging cultural and religious norms that often shroud such intimate narratives. Within the Western context, the prevalent portrayal of forceful and objectifying eroticism towards women becomes a focal point, exposing the stereotypes perpetuated by societal structures.
Linda Paoli
Italy
She is currently based in Florence. Holding a diploma from the Institute of Art for Ceramics and a degree in Visual Arts and New Expressive Languages with a focus on Painting from the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, Linda recently delved into digital manipulation, creating captivating worlds through layered digital collages. Notable achievements include winning the Florence Prize for Visual Arts in 2021 and being a finalist in Visual Arts for Photography in 2022