12.00pm, Thu 23 May 2019 – 6.00pm, Sat 3 August 2019

Arts Catalyst
74-76 Cromer Street
London
WC1H 8DR

FURTHER INFORMATION

Free, no need to book

we-are-in-this together-but-we-are-not-one-and-the-same” — Rosi Braidotti

Towards the Planetary Commons is a new exhibition investigating agency and autonomy in the face of global ecological crises. Encompassing artist film, an evolving installation and a programme of talks and workshops, the programme reflects on different ways of living and how new knowledge can emerge from struggles against current ecopolitical challenges.

Part I
Showing Marwa Arsanios: Who’s Afraid of Ideology? Part I (2017) and Who’s Afraid of Ideology? Part 2(2019)
23 May – 6 July 2019 | Preview: Wednesday 22 May, 6.30pm 

Part II 
Showing Paloma Polo: The earth of the Revolution (2019) 
11 July – 3 August 2019 | Preview: Wednesday 10 July, 6.30pm 

Neoliberal policies imposed on communities of humans and non-humans reinforce strategies of land grabbing and monoculture, threatening the land and its biodiversity. Whilst corporations and governments alike remain removed from accountability for pollution, natural resource extraction and displacement of entire communities, across the world, in regions such as the Philippines and Kurdistan, people are collectively adopting new modes of decision-making and self-governance through approaches inspired by eco-feminism, class struggle and planetary commoning practices. 

In one room of the exhibition is a rotating programme of artist films by Lebanese artist Marwa Arsanios and Spanish artist Paloma Polo, all of which are presented for the first time in the UK. 

In Who’s Afraid of Ideology? Part I (2017) Arsanios addresses forms of self-governance and knowledge production that have emerged from the autonomous women’s movement in Rojava. Shot in the mountains of Kurdistan and through recorded testimony, the film tracks the practical work of the movement – how to use an axe, how to eat fish within its biological cycles of production, when to cut down a tree for survival and when to save it. It explores how individuals come to a conscious participation in the movement; how they become part of the guerrilla, highlighting group learning as essential to the movement itself. In the film, the soundtrack of testimonies, analyses, and critical histories from those within and in proximity to the movement are edited together in a single, solid density. In Who’s Afraid of Ideology? Part 2 (2019) Arsanios focuses on the ecofeminist groups that form part of the movement, honing in on the alliance between communities of women, nature and animals and problematising the care roles ‘naturally’ assigned to women. 

The second phase in the programme, will see artist Paloma Polo’s The earth of the Revolution (2019) premiered for the first time. Emerging from Polo’s research in the Philippines, cultivated over three years, and during which time the artist located herself at the heart of the ongoing democratic struggles in the region – a struggle in which marginalised countryside communities are actively fighting for democratic and progressive transformations, emancipation and the common good – this new work offers viewers a glimpse into the political practices that underlie the revolution. Segmented into scenes, the film closely follows the guerrilla as they go about their everyday tasks, from lessons and habitual meetings, reporting and assessments to personal conversations and confidences, moments of solitude and rest. Blurring the distinctions between documentary and artist film, The earth of the Revolution seeks to expand our understanding of how revolution manifests itself in a contemporary context, reflecting on some of the positive human elements and processes that might arise from such conflicts. 

Arts Catalyst’s second space will take the form of a ‘living room,’ an evolving installation showcasing case studies that emerge from the programme, presented within the framework of a modular environment designed by artist Lorenzo Sandoval. Works by collective practice They Are Here, artists-in-residence throughout 2019, will be presented alongside Sandoval’s installation. They Are Here draw from research over the past two years into Wardian Cases, a botanical container developed in the early 19th Century to transport plants across great distances. Prototypes for New Wardian Cases (2019) are material structures modelled on non-European architectural histories that function as a form of speculative design. In the context of the public programme, They Are Here will present a live-mix of their new audio-visual work, BRUNO, an enveloping, free-ranging meditation on the relationships between ecology, migration and the urban environment. 

Towards the Planetary Commons is part of Arts Catalyst’s Test Sites programme, an ongoing co-inquiry exploring the rapid transformations in human and non-human lives caused by environmental change. Featuring works by international artists, this next phase in the project opens up the programme to broader planetary perspectives. An accompanying programme of talks, conversations and workshops will be announced soon via Arts Catalyst’s website.

Image: Paloma Polo: Still from ‘The earth of the Revolution’ (2019), courtesy the artist

Reposted from the Arts Catalyst website: https://www.artscatalyst.org/towards-planetary-commons-reimagining-infrastructures-autonomy

The post Arts Catalyst Event in London, UK – Towards the planetary commons: reimagining infrastructures for autonomy appeared first on P2P Foundation.

Furtherfield Gallery
Saturday 15 Sep until Sunday 21 Oct 2018

Private View: Friday 14 September 18:00 – 20:00 (Register)

Open Sat – Sun, 11:00 – 17:00 or by appointment
Admission Free

DOWNLOAD PRESS RELEASE

Transnationalisms is an exhibition exploring changes in how we think about territory, border and movement in an age of increasing digital connectivity and nationalism. Curated by James Bridle at Furtherfield Gallery from 14th September to 21st October 2018, it is part of a series of events belonging to the EU-funded State Machines project on new relationships between states, citizens and the stateless.

PHYSICAL BORDERS

‘Jus sanguinis’ or ‘right of the blood’ refers to the way Spain aligns physical and geographical bodies by giving people citizenship only if they contain Spanish blood. It is also the name of a performance and installation (2016)  by Peru-born and Spain-dwelling artist, Daniela Ortiz, who arranged a blood transfusion from a Spanish citizen while 4 months pregnant. From deep inside her, infused by liquid Spain, her baby transcends national borders and her own body becomes a complex cultural terrain. The use of blood reminds us of the real violence of immigration laws, while the video installation recalls the ease at which mortal harm can flow through media veins.

Physically traversing Europe, the exhibition arrives by way of State Machine partners Aksioma & Museum of Contemporary Art, Slovenia and Mali salon, Croatia. At Furtherfield Gallery in Finsbury Park it occupies land straddling its own official and vernacular boundaries. Sitting within Islington, Hackney and Haringey, Finsbury Park is described as ‘superdiverse’ with over 180 languages spoken and high levels of ‘churn’ as people come and go.

Daniela Ortiz, Jus Sanguinis, 2016. Photo courtesy of the artist

DIGITAL BORDERS

If Ortiz represents a radically open border, then VPN (2018) by Critical Computer Engineering Group (Julian Oliver, Gordan Savičić, and Danja Vasiliev) is about protection. The work considers how VPNs can ‘sheath’ our private (data) parts during social intercourse online. Audience members will be able to use the repurposed condom machine to select an international destination for rerouting their data and then download a completely undetectable VPN to a USB for personal use. This is the first showing of the work which was commissioned as part of an artwork open call by the State Machines partner organisations.

CULTURAL BORDERS

Journeying ‘home’ to Furtherfield – where it was made and first shown in 2017 – is video installation We Help Each Other Grow by collective They Are Here (Helen Walker & Harun Morrison). It features former Tamil refugee, Thiru Seelan, seen only as his thermal signature from a heat-sensitive camera. He motions to a past and present he has no ‘right’ to – a dance that belongs to Tamil women; a city that belongs to the blood of British people. Yet there he is, at least temporarily, warm and well in both ‘spaces’ at once.

OTHER WORKS INCLUDE

Movables (2017) is a series of images by Jeremy Hutchison which look at the fashionable world of refugee disguise design.

CNI (2017) by Raphaël Fabre is the entirely digital portrait the French government accepted as photographic proof of Fabre for an ID card.

New Unions / After Europe (2016-) by Jonas Staal is a campaign and system for a new trans-democratic union in Europe.

They Are Here, We Help Each Other Grow, 2017. Film Still from Video shot on thermal imaging camera. Photo courtesy of the artists

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

James Bridle is an artist, writer and curator and one of Wired’s ‘100 most influential people in Europe’ (2017). He is  the author of New Dark Age: Technology and the End of the Future (Verso: 2018). He is based in London.
jamesbridle.com

Critical Computer Engineering Group is a collaboration between Julian Oliver, Gordan Savičić, and Danja Vasiliev. Their manifesto begins: “The Critical Engineer considers Engineering to be the most transformative language of our time, shaping the way we move, communicate and think. It is the work of the Critical Engineer to study and exploit this language, exposing its influence.”
criticalengineering.org

Raphaël Fabre works on the interference of fictions and narrative storytelling in the real world, using techniques ranging from digital 3D technologies to set decoration. Born in 1989, he lives and works in Paris.
raphaelfabre.com

Jeremy Hutchison explores with situational performance in sites of production and consumption – often collaborating with factory employees, migrant labourers, online workers – to explore unequal human relations constructed by global capital. He was recently a member of the Whitney Independent Study Program in New York.
jeremyhutchison.com

Daniela Ortiz generates spaces of tension in which the concepts of nationality, racialization, social class and gender are explored in order to critically understand structures of inclusion and exclusion in society. Daniela gives talks and participates in discussions on Europe’s migration control system and its ties to coloniality in different contexts. Born in Cusco, she lives and works in Barcelona.
daniela-ortiz.com

Jonas Staal has studied monumental art in Enschede and Boston and received his PhD for research on art and propaganda in the 21st century from the University of Leiden. His work includes interventions in public space, exhibitions, theatre plays, publications and lectures, focusing on the relationship between art, democracy and propaganda. He lives and works in Rotterdam.
jonasstaal.nl

They Are Here is a collaborative practice steered by Helen Walker and Harun Morrison (f. 2006). Their work can be read as a series of context-specific games through which they seek to create ephemeral systems and temporary micro-communities that offer an alternate means of engaging with a situation, history or ideology. They are currently based in London and on the River Lea.
theyarehere.net

ABOUT FURTHERFIELD

Furtherfield is an internationally-renowned digital arts organisation hosting exhibitions, workshops and debate for over 20 years. We collaborate locally and globally with artists, academics, organisations and the public to explore digital culture and the changing world we live in. From our unique venues in Finsbury Park we offer a range of ways for everyone to get hands on with emerging technologies and ideas about contemporary society. Our aim is to make critical digital citizens of us all. We can make our own world.

Furtherfield Gallery
McKenzie Pavilion
Finsbury Park, London, N4 2NQ
Visiting Information

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