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Centro de Arte Moderna, Lisbon, 2003

A re-screening of video works from videozone festival.

The participating artists and works >>>

Behind Sacred
Tali Hinkis (Israel – 1974), 2002, 1' 40''Behind Sacred was shot at the women’s section of the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. Instead of showing the wall itself, the piece concentrates on the motion of the women to and from the wall. As they move away from the most sacred site for the Jewish people, the women continue to face the wall walking backwards, thus creating a unique rhythm between the Holy and the mundane. The sound is a remix of a live performance by Israeli singer Victoria Hanna. The piece was originally presented during a performance with Hanna at Habima Club, Tel Aviv and Tonic, New York.

Tali Hinkis was born in Jerusalem, in 1974. In 1994 she moved to Paris to study at the École des Beaux-Arts. In December 2000 she received a student exchange grant to study in NY where she has lived and worked since. While working mostly with digital equipment, Hinkis produces handmade and tangible visual pieces that reflect on technology’s vulnerability and on its relationship to the physical and emotional human body. Her videos have been shown in many festivals and screenings around the world, while her collaborative performances have been presented in many venues in the U.S.A including Tonic, The Knitting Factory, Exit Art, Art in General, and Andrew Krepes Gallery.






21:40
Boaz Arad (Israel – 1956) & Miki Kratsman (Argentina – 1959), 2000, 6' 20''The film is a series of reconstructions of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination by passers by at the scene of crime. Each has his/her own vague scenario of the event, and must complete the missing details.

Boaz Arad was born in Israel, in1956. Teaches at the Camera Obscura School of Art, Tel Aviv, Hamidrasha - the Art College, Beit Berl and the Thelma Yellin High School of the Arts, Tel Aviv, Israel. Selected exhibitions: The Angel of History, Herzliya Museum of Art; The Jewish Museum, New York. Miki Kratsman was born in Argentina, in 1959, and immigrated to Israel. Selected exhibitions: Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel; Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel; Maison Robert Doisneau, Paris, France and Nelly Aman Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel.






Father
Doron Solomons (Reino Unido - 1969), 2002, 13'This work addresses the fears and anxieties of a father – the anxieties of the narrator himself, the anxieties of an Israeli citizen, as well as the anxieties of the father of a suicide bomber. Observing a little girl watching TV, it offers a direct and indirect view of “reality”.

Doron Solomons was born in London, 1969. Graduate of the Art Teachers’ Training College (Hamidrasha), Ramat Hasharon. Teaches video art and cinema at Hamidrasha - the Art College, Beit Berl and Camera Obscura School of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel. Among his solo exhibitions are: Haifa Museum of Art, Israel; Herzliya Museum of Art, Israel. Among his group exhibitions are: The Video Art Biennale, São Paulo, Brazil; Videobrasil, Brazil; Microwave 2000, Video Art Festival, Hong Kong; Kunsthalle, Vienna, Austria.






Boudin
Lior Waterman (Israel – 1975), 2002, 12' 50''

Diverse indecent acts are performed on blood sausages, taking place at an improvised explosives lab.

Lior Waterman was born in Israel, in 1975. On 2000 Graduate of the Art Department, Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem, Israel. Curated and exhibited a video-night at Hagada Hasmalit, Tel Aviv, Israel. Currently working on a film anthology for the project Hunger curated by Naomi Aviv.





Understood
Hilla Lulu Lin (Israel - 1964) & Levi Zini (Israel - 1953), 2002, 19'Five years after her father had passed away, artist Hila Lulu Lin returns to the Kibbutz in which she was born and raised, to present her performance entitled Understood. During the performance she strolls through the Kibbutz wearing a special body suit filled with stones, handing gold threads to Kibbutz members, and eventually gathering everyone, family members and friends, to the cemetery amidst the graves of her grandparents. To the sound of a mandolin she lights a fire inscription reading “Understood.” Director Levi Zini followed the process of creation, as well as the encounters with the Kibbutz members and with Hila’s family members who were agitated by her return.

Hilla Lulu Lin was born in1964, in Israel. In 1989, BFA, Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem, Israel. Selected solo exhibitions: 1995 The Air Has a Sweet Taste, Nicole Klagsbrun Gallery, New York, USA; 1998 Miles I Would Go, Haifa Museum of Art, Israel; Double Rivage, Centre Regional d'Art Contemporain, Cité, Paris, France; 1999, Sunny Side Up, Hallwalls, Contemporary Arts Center, Buffalo, New York, USA; 2000 Absolute Naked, Noga Gallery of Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv, Israel; 2002 I Need Some Money Honey, Ray Gun Gallery, Valencia, Spain. FALTA CV LEVI ZINI!!!






Jerusalem Wildlife Diary
Amir Balaban (Israel - 1964) & Sharon Balaban (Israel - 1971), 2002,15'

Jerusalem Wildlife Diary is part of an ongoing project aimed at depicting the dynamics between ever diminishing public green spaces and expanding urban development. Jerusalem, like many other cities around the world, is changing dramatically. A growing population and new infrastructure development take a heavy toll on wild habitats in and around the city. In the process, large portions of the public natural resources that have defined the city’s landscape and visual identity have been lost to the hand of few developers.


The selected sequences follow events in urban wildlife sites that are presently under direct threat of intensive development. They portray nature under siege, in a mix of daily routine and violent occurrences. As the city encroaches, animals adopt different strategies. Some, no matter what, are doomed, while others adapt, in some cases even thriving within the new challenging urban ecology.

The film’s central location is the Gazelle Valley. The valley is what remains of an ecological corridor that led from the Jerusalem Hills into the center of town. The film and, in particular, the Gazelle Valley sequences have in fact acted as a catalyst for the generation of a coalition of community groups and organizations that are undertaking an unprecedented urban experiment which has succeeded in suspending proposed housing development plans for the Valley and ensuring their participation in determining its fate.

Amir Balaban was born in Israel, 1964. Graduate of the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem. Lives and works in New York. Among his shows are: “Roadside Language”, Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem, Israel; "The Jews of Singapore", Jerusalem Theatre, Israel and "Fire Ranges", Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem, Israel. Sharon Balaban was born in Israel, in 1971, lives and works currently in New York, USA. Graduate of the Hunter College, New York. Among his group shows are: “Paradise”, Herzliya Museum of Art, Israel; National Gallery, Budapest, Hungary and "Peepshow28 –The Lusty Lady Peepbooths", Seattle, San Francisco, USA. Among his solo shows are: Rosenfeld Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel; Herzliya Museum of Art, Israel and Haifa Museum of Art, Israel






In the Center
Elyasaf Kowner (Israel – 1970), 2001, 15'In this one scene video I have followed a conversation between two ladies. I was captivated by their presence and drifted into their private world. Like other of my 'Journey' genre videos, this one too, is neither true nor false. It represents both a remote reality but at the same time - an emotion I am longing for. I have tried to tune into an invisible darkness which is both funny and at the same time - it's what keeps me going. In Hebrew the title appears as one word ('Center' as an abbreviation of 'Dizengoff Center' which is a mall in the heart of Tel Aviv). So this word that was turned from English into Hebrew coverts its 'central' implication within it. Is it a peripheral center or a center because the heart is always there, at the center - just like Shelly, the one character we know by name, who happens have the same name as the cafe we are sitting in.

Elyasaf Kowner was born in Israel, in 1970. Graduate of the Department of Visual Communication, Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem, Israel. Selected exhibitions: Janco Dada Museum, Ein Hod, Israel; Rosenfeld Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel; Art in General Gallery, New York, USA; Gwanju Biennale, Korea. Teaches at the Shenkar College of Engineering & Design, Ramat Gan, Israel.






Lady's
Cui Xiuwen (China), 6' 19''





The Kiss (Let's play Dinasty!)
Francesco Vezzoli (Italy – 1971), 2000, 6'

Francesco Vezzoli's video is, in fact, a “vintage remake” of the most typically Hollywood-style serial (Dynasty), set in an oppressive apartment, decorated with furniture that belonged to Ludwig of Baviera. Helmut Berger, who played Ludwig in Luchino Visconti’s 1972 movie by that name, participated in some episodes of Dynasty, playing the role of Peter deVilbis, a dissolute and self-destructive aristocrat. In The Kiss, Berger gets rid of that improbable self-referred character and takes his own revenge, assuming the role of Dynasty’s transgressive and self-conscious heroine Alexis Carrington, originally played by Joan Collins. Francesco Vezzoli himself recites with Berger a fragment from a Dynasty episode: a dialogue between Alexis and her son Steven Carrington about his presumed homosexuality. The ironically dramatic scene is filmed in a visual style that intentionally recalls Visconti’s 1974 masterpiece Conversation Piece, starring Helmut Berger and Silvana Mangano.

Francesco Vezzoli was born in Brescia, Italy, 1971. Studied Fine Arts at the Central St. Martin‚s School of Art, London, England. Lives and works in Milan, Italy. Since 1997 has exhibited his work world wide, including solo exhibitions in the New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, USA; Galleria Giò Marconi, Milan, Italy; Castello di Rivoli - Museum of Contemporary Art, Turin; Galerie fur Zeitgenossische Kunst, Leipzig, Germany; Centre d‚Art Contemporain, Geneva, Switzerland. His group exhibitions include: the Second Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art, England; the 49th Venice Biennale, Italy and Squatters, Fundação Serralves, Porto, Portugal.






Ritual
Teresa Serrano (Mexico – 1936), 2000, 6' 30''The video is about domestic violence. It shows a couple arriving home from a party. He still has the tuxedo shirt on, she is dressed in a cocktail dress. They start arguing when she tells him to put out his cigarette and complains about an affair he is supposedly having. He hits her and shouts at her. She forgives him as part of their sadomasochistic relationship.

Teresa Serrano was born in 1936, in Mexico.1997 Havana Biennial, Cuba; Johannesburg Biennial, South Africa. 2000 Video installation, Museo de Arte Moderno, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2001 Buried Mirrors, video installation, Bard College, New York. 2002 Formas de Violencia (solo), Laboratorio Arte Alameda, Mexico City.






Family Values (Part II: The Motherhood Itch)
Teemu Mäki (Finland - 1967) & Pijetta Brander (Finland - 1970), 1997, 14'

"We worked on Family Values parts I and II a couple of months before the birth of our first child. We used the unique changes in Pirjetta's body, our relationship and moods as raw materials with which to ask fundamental questions. For example: Why live? Why give birth? Are children our feeble bridge over the gulf of death? What are the similarities between making art and making children? Our daughter, Aino Ursula Mäki, was born on June 15, 1997." (Teemu Mäki, 1997)
"I studied the myths associated with pregnancy and motherhood, which were totally alien to me. I found it hard to accept the physical transformations of the female body during pregnancy. Among other things, these works are about coming to terms with these changes. Giving birth of a child of our own raised many questions about identity, while providing answers to others.” (Pirjetta Brander, 1997)

Teemu Mäki was born in Lapua, Finland, in 1967. In 1990, he completed the MFA at the Academy of Fine Arts of Finland, Helsinki, where he currently studies for Ph.D. Selected Solo Exhibitions: 1999 Studio Mezzo, Helsinki; 2000 Cable Gallery, Helsinki; Studio Mezzo, Helsinki; Kiasma, Contemporary Art Museum, Helsinki; 8-part work Vampire Variations, with Studio X; Galerie Anhava, Helsinki; Kari Kenetti Gallery, Helsinki, Finland; Muu Gallery, Helsinki; 2000-2001 Why Socialism Is Necessary, Oulu City Art Museum, Finland; 2001 Gallery of the Finnish Institute, Stockholm, Sweden; 2002 Doctorate exhibition, Lönnström Art Museum, Rauma, Finland; The Estonian Art Museum, Rotterman Salt Storage, Tallinn, Estonia; Kunsthalle Helsinki, Finland. Pirjetta Brander was born in Helsinki, in 1970. Lives and works in Helsinki, Finland. Education: 1990-1991 Art School Basis, Stockholm, Sweden; 1991-1994 Tampere School of Art and Media, Finland; 1998-2000 MA, Tampere School Of Art and Media (Tampere Polytechnic), Finland; 2001 MA, Tampere Polytechnic, Finland. Solo Exhibitions: Scorn and Ridicule, Rajatila Gallery, Tampere, Finland and Cable Gallery, Helsinki, Finland (1998); Seinäjoki Art Hall, Finland (1999); Adopted Emotions, paintings, Studio Mezzo, Helsinki, Finland (1999); Adopted Emotions, photographs, MUU Gallery, Helsinki, Finland (1999); Studio Mezzo, Helsinki, Finland (2000); Gallery Rajatila, Tampere, Finland (2001); Kulmagalleria, Helsinki, Finland (2002); Studio Mezzo, Helsinki, Finland(2002); Gallery Titanik, Turku, Finland (2002).






Stand By Your Man
Stefan St. Laurent (Canada – 1974), 1998, 10' 45''

3rd prize, WRO Biennial of New Media, Wroclaw, Poland.

An anxious and overzealous drag queen attempts to perform Tammy Wynette's “Stand by Your Man,” out-takes and all, in lip sync. The video raises many questions about the desirability and exoticism of transvestites. It is also a homage to singer Wynette, the queen of tragedies.

Stefan St-Laurent was born in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, 1974. Stefan St-Laurent has been Programmer for the Images Festival of Independent Film and Video in Toronto (1996-1999) and Programming Director for the International Francophone Film Festival in Acadie (1994 - present). His film, video and installation works have been exhibited internationally, notably at Edsvik Museum in Sollentuna, Sweden; the Centre National de la Photographie in Paris, France; YYZ Artists' Outlet in Toronto, Canada; and at the WRO 99 Media Art Biennial in Poland. He has been curator of film, video, photography and new media for a number of international venues, including the Lux in London and Cinémathèque Québécoise in Montréal, Canada. A video and installation artist, Stefan was until recently the Administrative Director of Gallery 101 in Ottawa and is now co-Artistic Director at SAW Gallery in Ottawa.






Die Jagd
Christian Jankowski (Germany – 1968), Germany, 1992-1997, 1' 11''

Direktor Pudel
Christian Jankowski (Germany – 1968), Germany, 1998, 9' 40''

The Matrix Effect
Christian Jankowski (Germany – 1968), USA, 2000, 34'

The Holy Artwork,
Christian Jankowski (Germany – 1968), USA, 2001, 15' 52''

Rosa
Germany, Christian Jankowski (Germany – 1968), 2001, 18' 54''

In his works, Jankowski looks reflexively at the field of art, exposing its inner politics and discourse. The Matrix Effect (2000), for example, celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum’s Matrix program through what looks like a conservative TV documentary format. Yet, Jankowski gives the roles of founders, curators and artists included in the program over the years (such as Sol Lewitt, Janine Antoni, Christo & Jean-Claude) to children. As they read out their assigned lines – generally incomprehensible to them – the structural behavior and language clichés of both this televised genre and the artistic discourse are unveiled.

Jankowski also links art to other mediums such as communication (Rosa, 2001), commerce (Die Jagd, 1992), religion (The Holy Art Work, 2002), and even fortune telling (Telemistica, 1999). By combining, associating or juxtaposing different mediums, Jankowski blurs the boundaries between fiction and reality. Jankowski’s art is often materialized by dislocating existing cultural structures, such as a televised sermon or a televised horoscope program, and artificially planting them in an artistic context. The artist’s presence in some of the videos, playing the role of himself, highlights both the artifice (the objects' displacement) and the real (as he is portraying himself).

Christian Jankowski was born in Göttingen, Germany, 1968. Studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Hamburg. Received international recognition in the 48th Venice Biennale, in 1999. Jankowski is a multi-media artist working with installation, video, photography, performance and literature. Lives and works in Berlin. Jankowski’s solo exhibitions include: The Swiss Institute, New York, USA; De Appel Foundation, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT, USA; Galerie Meyer Kainer, Vienna, Austria; Cologneischer Kunstverein, Cologne, Germany; Portikus, Frankfurt, Germany. Group exhibitions include: the 48th Venice Biennale, Italy; Kunsthaus Hamburg, Germany; The Institute of Contemporary Art, London, England; 2nd Berlin Biennale, Germany; ArtPace Foundation for Contemporary Art, San Antonio, Texas, USA; the 2002 Whitney Biennial, USA.






G Spotting
Nira Pereg (Israel – 1969), 2002, 1' 30''

While trying to find the pleasure zone of the eye or gaze, the camera is ordered to navigate in all directions and instructed to stop at what seems to be a pleasurable spot. Despite the visual nature of the search, the image remains virtually arbitrary, carefully following the audio, as if complying with its every demand and need.

Nira Pereg was born in Israel, in1969. Graduate of the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, New York and the Post-Graduate Program of the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem. Her works were featured at the Aco Art & theatre Festival, Aco, Turkey; Video Art Festival, Annecy, France; Young Artists’ Biennale, Rome, Italy, among other venues.






Memorial Project, Nha Trang, Vietnam: Towards the complex – For the Courageous, the Curious and the Cowards
Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba (Japan - 1968), 2001, 13'

Memorial Project traces the pilgrimage of the “leftover” class from the Vietnam War, in search for location or, in essence – its struggle for identity. Hatsushiba films a race of cyclos under water. Invisible behind the camera, the artist “hovers” to examine and capture the hunt as reflected in his own life. The struggles lead to a “complex” of 30 stretched mosquito nets, 6-8 meters deep underwater. The randomness of each net evokes the helplessness of drowned boat people. The courageous, the curious, and the cowards are symbolic of the fundamental types of individuals who attempted to flee. They are also the major types we can encounter in our society. They may be symbolic of all individuals in various situations and circumstances.

Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba was born in Japan, 1968. Lives in Vietnam. M.F.A, from the Maryland Institute, College of Art, Mount Royal School of Art, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Selected solo exhibitions: Mizuma Art Gallery, Tokyo, Japan; De Appel, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Dallas Visual Art Center, USA. Selected group exhibitions: Busan Biennale, Korea; Contemporary Art Museum of Kumamoto, Japan; Rio de Janeiro Film Festival, Brazil; 13th Biennale of Sydney, Australia; International Triennial of Contemporary Art, Japan.






Go On My Son
Zatorski & Zatorski, U.K., 2000/2001, 7' 30''

GO ON MY SON is a sound and text piece by Zatorski & Zatorski exploring the parallels between football, tribalism and religion. Using the construct of a football game, Zatorski & Zatorski have interlaced spoken extracts from the Gospels with the roars and cheers of a football crowd and the sounds of the match. The crowd is the congregation. The preacher is the commentator. The viewer, seduced by the excitement and fervor of the crowd, enters the gallery to become part of the congregation. Football is presented as a contemporary parallel to the gathering of religious followers and a modern-day mechanism through which people can still identify "their group". GO ON MY SON explores the human need to pack, to be tribal, to battle, to belong, to worship something.

Zatorski & Zatorski formed in ?. Selected Exhibitions: EX 15:9, Cell Project Space, London, England; Lightboxes, Sh! Women’s Erotic Emporium, London, England; Witness (solo show), Chapter Gallery, Cardiff, Ireland; No Sleep Till Hammersmith, film screening, Central Space, London, England; film screening as part of “Artmart,” 291 Gallery, London; 291 Presents ZATORSKI & ZATORSKI (solo show), 291 Gallery, London, England (2000); ZATORSKI & ZATORSKI, documentary produced by Eye Contact, Now TV; Fresh Art, Business Design Centre, London, England; awarded sponsorship for Fresh Art by Marks & Spencer; awarded Visual Arts Grant, London Arts Board; end of residency show, St Saviours, London, England; installation commissioned for the directors’ corridor of Marks & Spencer‘s Head Office, Baker Street, London, England; Fresh Art, Business Design Centre, London, England; Open Studios, site-specific installations, St Saviours, London, England (2001).






Singing Lesson #1
Artur Zmijewski (Poland – 1966), 2001, 14' 01''Courtesy of the Foksal Gallery Foundation, Warsaw, PolandA choir composed of deaf girls and boys sings a fragment from the Polish Mass (1944) by Jan Maklakiewicz, accompanied by the sublime sounds of an organ. They sing: “In this holy place, in this holiest place, our voices rise to you and erupt as the sea roars from the deep abyss. O Christ, hear us. O Christ, listen to us.” .




So Far, So Good
Andreas Gedin (Sweden – 1958), 2002, 4' 30''

Courtesy WRO Festival, Wro, Poland

A man is telling a silent movie to a blind boy while eating pizza.

Andreas Gedin was born in Sweden, in 1958. Lives and works in Sweden. His works combine an interest in ideas, communication, logistics, literature and power relations. They often interfere with and undermine given rules or categories, causing changes or disturbance of what we usually regard as normal. The use of texts in also prevalent in the works that are presented in the form of small-scale actions, videos, photography or any other medium that suits the content. Gedin has participated in group exhibitions including: Babel, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, England; Say Hallo to Peace and Tranquility, the Netherlands Media Art Institute, Amsterdam, Holland and Nicolai CCAC, Copenhagen, Sweden; Attention Span, Freespace, Sydney, Australia and has stages solo shows at Index, Stockholm and BildMuseet, Umea, Sweden. He is currently working on several projects at the Liljevalchs Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden.








Benevolence
Karen Russo (Israel - 1974), 2002, 13'

Karen Russo's Benevolence revolves around the figure of the "schemer" (played by the artist) who sets traps for innocent figures, such as children, the elderly and the helpless, thus violating asocial taboo. The encounter between the satanic figure of the "schemer" and these people generates a crisis, providing a catalyst that triggers a process of deterioration. It is an encounter characterized by destructive giving, where the one ties a rope around other's neck. Among other things, this work challenges the prevalent view of the artist as a moral person, highlighting the artist's manipulative, malicious, criminal facet. This video describes the creative process as a winding road that in a distorted way strives for a harmonious end. It offers a dual perception where good and evil are intertwined, defining one another and mutually inseparable. It does so by presenting the artist as a hangman, executing a divine decree.

Karen Russo was born in Israel, 1974. Graduate of the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem, in Israel.







Heroes
Oliver Pietsch (Germany – 1972), 2002, 10'

Courtesy WRO Festival, Wro, Poland

You need a camera. A cheap one will do just fine. A tripod, a pin, some adhesive tape, balloons, and maybe someone to help you a little. Use the tape to fix the pin to the camera's lens. Blow up the balloons and disperse them in a room of your choice. Now put the camera on the tripod and carry the whole thing upside down. Before you start shooting you should practice a little.

Oliver Pietsch was born in Munich, in 1972. Studied at the Art Academy, Munich (1996-2003). Lives in Berlin. Group Exhibitions and Festivals: Videonale, Bonn, Germany; gestrandet, Munich, Germany; Videofestival Murazzi, Turin, Italy; In & Out, Tirana, Italy (2000); Generator, Bologna/Milan, Italy (2000/2001); WRO - 9th Media Art Biennale, Wroclaw, Poland (first prize); Infernale, Berlin, Germany; Circles Of Confusion, Film & Video Festival, Berlin, Germany; Macht der Gewohnheit, Kunsthalle Exnergasse, Vienna, Austria; Videofestival, Turin, Italy; Click Here, Art Forum Gallery, Merano, Italy; 14th Instants Video Manosque, France (2001); Prison screening, Prison of Marseilles, France; VideoArt & Experimental Film, Munich, Germany (2000).







Synaesthesia
Kendel Geers (Belgium – 1968), 0' 22''Performance by Jerome Sans and Nicolas Bourriaud.

Kendell Geers was born in Brussels, in May 1968, where he lives and works. One Person Exhibitions: Rogue States, Stephen Friedman Gallery, London, England (2003); Mondo Kane, Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, Italy; A Spy in the House of Love, Camouflage, Brussels, Belgium; Sympathy for the Devil, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France; Grenzgänger, Galerie Luis Campana, Köln, Germany (2002); Where Angels Fear to Tread, Delfina Project Space, London, England; Televisionaries, Württembergischer Kunstverein and Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart, Germany (2001); Art Unlimited, Basel ArtFair, Basel, Switzerland (2000).







Zmojego okna ('From My Window')
Jozef Robakowski (Poland – 1939), 1978-1999, 20'Courtesy WRO Festival, Wro, PolandI have been working on this film since 1978, when I started living in a flat situated in the so-called Manhattan in the center of Lodz. From time to time I would “look out” of my kitchen window with a film or video camera at a huge square which became the hero of my “notebook.” In spite of me, constant changes and various social and political events kept taking place in that square. I was also interested in the everyday lives of the people who had something to do with the square. Twenty years have gone by since I shot the first frames of that film. The time accumulated on film became the protagonist of my venture. In 1998, the City Authorities decided to build an international hotel in our beautiful square. Its construction is currently under way. Now the view from my window encompasses only a fragment of the hotel wall. In 1999, I decided to end these film chronicles.

Jozef Robakowski was born in Poznan, Poland, in 1939. Studied History of Art and Museum Management at the Department of Fine Arts, Nicholas Copernicus University, Torun, and Film Photography at the State College of Film, Television and Theater, Lódz. 1970-1981 and since 1995 Lecturer at the State College of Film, Television and Theater, Lódz. He is an artist, art historian, author of films, photographic series, video recordings, drawings, installations, objects, conceptual projects and initiator of many important art events and multimedia shows. Co-founder of artistic groups engaging in experimental art, among them: OKO (1960), Stkf Petla (1960-1966), Zero-61 (1961-1969), Krag (1965-1967), Warsztat Formy Filmowej – a legendary formation founded in 1970 in Lódz, and Stacja L – a Creative Television Group.







Souvenirs ('Memories')
Renata Poljak (Croatia – 1974),1999, 7' 30''

Courtesy WRO Festival, Wro, Poland

The video's main concern is the father figure in the private as well as public-political senses. An artist is writing and rewriting the words Tito, Tata, ("daddy") obsessively. The auditory as well as visual similarities of these words prompt the artist to repeat the action over and over again. Acoustic quality turns into a mantra-like, repetitive sequence whose sound covers the words’ content. The rhythmic repetition of the sound and gesture of scribbling the words Tito and Tata, turns the words into sound material for a pop song to which the artist is dancing.

Renata Poljak was born in Split, Croatia, 1974. In 1999, Post-Graduate studies at E.R.B.A.N, Nantes, France. Lives and works in Nice and Split. Poljak creates videos, video installations, light objects and photographs. She has shown her work at the most important group shows in Croatia. In March 2000 she staged a solo exhibition at the Extended Media Gallery, Zagreb. Her work has been shown throughout Europe, the US and Canada, in galleries, museums and biennials. She received four awards for her videos.







Discover Latvia
Agnese Bule (Latvia – 1972), 2000, 13'

An excursion in Latvian history and the Latvian present recounted in a symbolic (tree/barrel) language.

Agnese Bule was born in 1972, in Latvia. She graduated from the Department of Visual Communication of the Art Academy of Latvia in 1999.







Sprechen Sie Deutsh? (Do You Speak German?)
Alexander Vereschack (Ukraine – 1971) & Margarita Zinets (Ukraine – 1972), 1998, 12'

Courtesy WRO Festival, Wro, Poland

Sprechen sie Deutsch is based on footage from original educational film created by BawariaFilm in 1970. It explores the possibility of looking at an object from a different point of view and trying to comprehend the material without focusing on the educational aspects of film. We preserved original dialogues. Some parts of the film, however, replaced one another in the editing process, thus shifting accents in the content. As a result, our initial object revealed itself in a different mode and one of the previously invisible layers surfaced.

Alexander Vereschak was born in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, 1971. From1991 to 1996, studied at the Institute of Industrial Art, Kharkov, Ukraine. Margarita Zinets was born in Cherkassy, Ukraine, 1972. From 1992 to 1997 studied at Institute of Industrial Art, Kharkov, Ukraine. Since 1997 they have participated in several group shows including: Rebel Minds Project, Berlin, Germany; Algeria New Video, RA-gallery, Kiev, Ukraine (2002); War & Communication, Graz; Event City, Bauhaus-Dessau; Brand Scape, Berlin, Germany (2001); Break 21, Ljubljana, Slovenia (1999); Come to Our Cosmos, Galerie Kohlenhof, Nürnberg; Inner Space, Poznan, Poland. 1997 '5+5' Gallery Kohlenhof, Nürnberg (1998). Solo Exhibitions: Ra-gallery, Kiev; L-art Gallery, Kiev, Ukraine. Both live in Kiev, Ukraine.







Bardzo nam sie podoba ('We Like It a Lot')
Azorro Group (Poland – 2001), 2001, 7 ' 30''

A group tour in Warsaw's contemporary art galleries; a fruitful insight into the critical discourse concerning the criteria of art evaluation.

Azorro Group was formed in late 2001. Azorro is a group of artists who come from different fields and different media: Oskar Dawicki - performer, Igor Krenz - video artist, Wojtek Niedzielko – photographer, and Lukasz Skapski - installations, objects and photographs. Azorro talks in old rock terms. It is a super-group formed by recognized artists, who are also active in other constellations. They have joined forces to make ironic videos that often comment on delicate matters pertaining to the art system. Azorro has been exhibited at Galeria Raster, Warsaw; Entropia, Wroclaw; Bunkier Sztuki, Krakow, Arsenal, Bialystok – all in Poland, as well as abroad – in Austria, Brazil, the Czech Republic and Germany.







Dialog Between East and West
Marcel Odenbach (Germany – 1953), Germany, 1978, 3' 40''

Too Beautiful to Be True
Marcel Odenbach (Germany – 1953), Germany, 2000, 9' 44'' It Was on a Thursday
Marcel Odenbach (Germany – 1953), Germany, 2002, 10’

Marcel Odenbach was born in Germany, in 1953. Teaches Media Arts at the KHM, Cologne, Germany. In the past 30 years, he has exhibited his works all over the world, including group exhibitions at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; the Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA; Documenta 6 & 8 in Kassel, Germany; and solo exhibitions at the New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, USA; IVAM, Centro Julio Gonzales, Valencia, Spain; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France, among other venues. Currently lives in Cologne, Germany.







How to Make a Refugee
Phil Collins (England – 1970), Macedonia, 2000, 11'

Bagdad Screen Tests
Phil Collins (England – 1970), Iraque, 2002, 48'

Hero
Phil Collins (England – 1970), USA, 2002, 60'Collins’ territories of interest lie in border zones. His objects of gaze are usually refugees, asylum seekers, the homeless. In the past couple of years he has shot in Belfast, in Belgrade, in refugee camps in Macedonia, etc. In his work, he seeks to portray the individual in an area of civil or social conflict; he constantly examines and criticizes the media’s conventional representation of such issues, putting into question the possibility of creating an authentic image. In How to Make a Refugee, for example, Collins follows reporters and press photographers in a Macedonian refugee camp as they choose their “locations” and “stage” the chosen refugees in order to obtain the requested “effect” for their Western viewers.

Phil Collins was born in 1970 in Runcorn, England, Phil Collins is a stills photographer and video artist. He studied at the University of Manchester (English Literature and Drama) and did his MFA in Fine Arts at the University of Ulster. Collins’ work has been presented in the Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade, Jusgoslavia; the Temple Bar Gallery, Dublin, Ireland; the Tirana Biennial, Albania; Pandaemonium - Lux Centre, London, England; Manifesta 3, Moderna Gallery, Ljubljana, Slovenia; ArtTank, Belfast, Ireland; the Cardiff Art in Time Festival, Ireland; Art Primeur 2000, CBK, The Netherlands, among other venues. In 2002, he was invited to take part in the PS1 International Artist Program, New York, USA. Phil Collins is based in Belfast, Ireland.