Spaces of Exception

‘Spaces of Exception’ brings together both existing and newly conceived works. The oldest piece in the exhibition is the Book of decrees (1977) by the legendary Russian conceptualist Dmitry Prigov (1940-2007). The book consists of only six pages, but each of them proudly enunciates a decree signed by

“D. Prigov, chairman”. Included are the following: the decree of the animal, decree of the air, decree of closeness, decree of unit, decree of black, and ultimately, the decree of decree. Prigov’s decrees evoke an absurd revolutionary hero in times of stagnation, while the artist himself imitates and parodies the role of a legislator.

The exhibition ‘Spaces of Exception’ takes up the antiquated myth of the artist as legislator from today's point of view, when artists assume multiple identities as producer, researcher, worker, romantic entrepreneur, cognitive proletarian, critic of nationalist propaganda, etc. Like Prigov, they stage legal texts or cases, create alternative laws and legal systems, criticizing the current state of affairs. The most striking example in the exhibition is the installation New World Summit by Jonas Staal, which stages alternative parliaments at the service of what are labeled terrorist groups, which are active around the world and often fight state repression.

Others comment on the state of exception as a manifold reality in today’s society. This is explicit in the work of the Russian collective Chto Delat, whose ‘Lehrstücke’ have so far rarely been shown in Moscow. An earlier statement of the group resonates throughout this exhibition: “…A ‘state of emergency’ is in the process of becoming a quotidian reality, a strange new ‘norm’ that affects all areas of life, a grey backdrop for the everyday. New systems of surveillance are implemented; public space is privatized and placed under strict control; censorship dams the flow of information; passport controls and travel restrictions limit freedom of movement; suspicious individuals are searched and detained; elections are falsified, all in the name of the battle for democracy and human rights.” Chto Delat will present two film works, one of which was produced in the Netherlands. Artists like Aernout Mik, Ivan Brazhkin and Renzo Martens reflect on war as a state of emergency, while others comment on specific colonial histories that, although invisible, still resonate today. Finally, the exhibition itself functions as a space of exception. Through her work Obsidian Contract, Carey Young permits the visitor to use the exhibition space differently than legally regulated public spaces.

The exhibition will also serve as a stage for the choreographer Anna Abalikhina. She will appropriate the show and use it as an exceptional space of rehearsal right after its opening. Engaging with the entire exhibition, she will reconsider the Soviet tradition of the parade and its mass ornaments as a carnival-cum-demonstration. The results of this collaboration between the curators and the choreographer will be performed on September 17th.