We Were Trying to Make Sense... publication view
Developed in cooperation between Magda Fabianczyk and Sophie Hoyle, the publication ‘We were trying to make sense...’ includes contributions from an array of artists and workers, looking at artist and non-artist collaborations across the globe
The select projects include contributions from Rachel Anderson of Artangel, Broniowianki Folk Group, Petra Bryant, Sophie Hoyle, Magda Fabiańczyk, Tilly Fowler of AIR at CSM, Emaan Mahmud, David Roberts, Alicja Rogalska, Justyna Scheuring and Erica Scourti. All of the presented endevours generated dialogue through collaborative processes, and worked both within and outside of institutional constraints. We were trying to make sense..., edited by Magda Fabiańczyk, is thus a platform for reflecting on these processes from a number of perspectives, with contributions from both artists and non-artists. By bringing together works developed separately in India, Germany, Pakistan, Poland and the UK, the exhibition looks at how artists that operate internationally work with non-artists in local communities and other specific contexts. It emphasizes a critical reflection on the works made in collaborative projects between artists and non-artists and their perceived successes and failures, and it questions the responsibility of the artist. It also addresses specific issues concerning ethics, power dynamics, communication, and representation
The London launch of the book includes additional contributions from Jeetin Rangher, Suresh Kumar and Annika Hampel. They are an outcome of Magda Fabianczyk’s residency at 1Shanthiroad in Bangalore.
1 Shanthi Road is an innovative and unique art and residency center in south India. It attempts at expanding the scope of home from being merely a private enclosure and at freeing the art discourse from institutionalized learning. In this attempt it frees the art gallery from its conventional impression as the rarified domain of the well heeled and ‘discerning’ patrons. This process re-establishes a symbiotic relationship between the art, the artist and the environment.
The book was first launched at 1Shanthiroad Studio Gallery in Bangalore ( Triangle Trust Network) and was distributed across India ending up at Khoj Delhi reading room, 1Shanthiroad, Studio 21, Clark House and Santiniketan University among others.
Magda Fabianczyk is an artist and a curator, as well as a freelance cinematographer. She is a graduate of the University of Economics in Katowice and has received artistic training at the Byam Shaw School of Art at Central Saint Martins, London. She has exhibited from 2007 in London, and has travelled with her works to Germany, Sweden, India, Pakistan and Poland.
Author: Paulina Schlosser, source: http://1shanthiroad.com/, http://www.polishculture.org.uk, http://www.fabianczyk.com/, 29.05.2013