Visual Foreign Correspondents_Berlin

Artists

Giselle Beiguelman (Brazil), Simon Faithfull (Great Britain), Mariam Ghani (Afghanistan), Han Hoogerbrugge (Netherlands), Little Warsaw (András Gálik & Bálint Havas, Hungary), Lena Merhej (Lebanon), Berit Zemke (Germany)

Coinciding with the 20th commemoration of the fall of the Berlin wall, WL Project Berlin | Hong Kong together with Visual Foreign Correspondents Foundation, invited 7 international artists to develop work relating to borders and boundaries and to take different positions relating to the nature of virtual or physical boundaries, walls or barriers as well as reflecting on the current state of the world. In times of a global economic crisis and international acts of terrorism, there is a clear tendency to re-erect or strengthen existing barriers; just as the European Union is strengthening its exterior borders.

The former border crossing Checkpoint Charlie has an great importance for the history of the Berlin Wall and its opening on 9th of November, 1989. Addressing issues such as borders and walls in public space enables complex discussions between different layers of society. Visual Foreign Correspondents_Berlin brings back this theme to its original location and stands as an invitation for dialogue and critical reflection.

While the artists Little Warsaw sketch the time span from before the fall of the wall until today, Berit Zemke highlights the Monday-strikes and previous and current surveillance possibilities. Han Hoogerbrugge reflects recent political and social developments through animated storytelling. Lena Marhej depicts that peace is an illusion, and Simon Faithfull uses his PalmPilot as a tool for communication to take us along on his journeys. The warning signs in Giselle Beiguelman’s animation reflect our interpretations of law and order. With her background both in New York and Afghanistan, Mariam Ghani plays and exchanges with the existing presumptions on these cultures in conflict.
From Monday, 21st of September, 2009 onwards, selected works of the participating artists will be screened in a weekly cycle at metro station Kochstraße/Checkpoint Charlie, synchronous to the edition on ZEIT online. On 9th of November, 2009, all works will be screened as a compilation on the media facade of Collegium Hungaricum Berlin, commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Visual Foreign Correspondents_Berlin is a collaboration between WL Project Berlin | Hong Kong und Visual Foreign Correspondents Foundation and is supported by Amsterdam Fonds voor de Kunst. ZEIT online is its media partner.

WL Project understands itself as a culture and space comprehensive project; being a basis for networking and discourse between Asia and Europe. We are searching for contemporary perspective in cultural activities to reconsider paradigms in understanding art and cultures. In particular art of Asian cultures is presented in European cultures under the effect of the west industrial art market and vice versa. WL Project is supposed to open the cultural exchange far in excess of these perspective and aims to enrich the dialogue between artists and audiences in order to broaden the understanding of contemporary art discourse.
—Shahram Entekhabi (Artistic director and founder of WL Project, Artist and architect)
—Team Berlin: Dr. Isabel Arends (Art historian, Independent writer and critic), Kathin Becker (Curatorial Advisor of WL Project, Art historian, curator and head of Video-Forum, Neuer Berliner Kunstverein), Andrea Sunder-Plassmann (Artist and curator, Professor at Alanus Art University) and Berit Zemke (Artist and psychologist)
—Team Hong Kong: Leung Chi Wo (Hong Kong, Artist)

Links

www.wl-project.org
www.zeit.de/kultur
www.visualcorrespondents.com
Press information
wl-presse@web.de