The Other Side of Water
Ona strana vode / Jenseits des Wassers / ان ور آب
https://theothersideofwater.com
Curated by Roshanak Amini and Uroš Pajović with Sofija Vučeta Posavec
With works by Diana Barquero Pérez, Ivan Marković, Juniper Foam, Lucas Odahara, Mariam Kalandarishvili, Marijana Radović, Marko Stojanović, Maryam Katan, Mate Ugrin, Roshanak Amini, Škart, Stephanie Imbeau and Uroš Pajović.
The Other Side of Water is a curated group exhibition by artists who have a practice based in extensive research and are interested in dealing with the notions surrounding the politics and poetics of water. The focus of the project—and many of the artists’ previous works, is the ways that bodies of water define our lives. The discourses around political disadvantage and inequality, migration, and environmental degradation as well as trade, colonization, and imperialism have historically been shaped by, and unraveled across, water. In every context (political, as much as geographical) where there is water, the meaning of this most precious element is comprehended differently: be it in tradition or mythology, trade or conflict, environmentalism or extractivism. This project will take place in three cities (Belgrade, Berlin and Teheran) connecting not only East to West and crossing the waters but also drawing a connection between the curators’ unique backgrounds.
The works of the artists can be divided into three thematic categories: geo/politics, story/telling, and environment/s, each forming a separate chapter. All of the contributions to the exhibition open up an examination of narratives around real and imagined bodies of water; narratives shaped by ideological structures and collective everyday practices alike. Approaching the curatorial process as a performance in and of itself, the exhibition will be curated taking into consideration Heraclitus’ idea that “one cannot step into the same river twice”. Within the duration of each exhibition the setup and/or the exhibited artists will be changed, keeping the exhibition fluid. The performative quality of the curatorial approach also allows each work to develop new layers of meaning through its relationship with its ever-changing surrounding. Adapting, clashing or complementing the artworks around it, each piece also becomes a metaphor for an individual in an ever shifting landscape.”
During its duration, the exhibition will have six iterations within three chapters:
18 – 27 April | Chapter One: Laments of Time
with Lucas Odahara, Mate Ugrin, Juniper Foam and Roshanak Amini, and Uroš Pajović
28 – 30 April | Shifts (Procession)
solo exhibition by Stephanie Imbeau
4 – 7 May | Chapter Two: Forces of Habit
with Lucas Odahara, Mariam Kalandarishvili, Marko Stojanović, Maryam Katan, Roshanak Amini, and Stephanie Imbeau
9 – 11 May | 19th of January
solo exhibition by Marko Stojanović
12 – 14 May | Chapter Three: Remnants of Hope
with Diana Barquero Pérez, Ivan Marković, Marijana Radović, and Škart
16 – 19 of May | Finissage Days
featuring the works of all participating artists