"War Veteran Vehicle" by Krzysztof Wodiczko, photo courtesy of Work Gallery in London
London's Work Gallery presents a new solo exhibition from Krzysztof Wodiczko. The National Gallery of Art in the Polish city of Sopot also surveys the artist's politically- and socially-charged projections in the public space with a show of works from 1980-2010
Elaborate designs for personal communication instruments and survival vehicles are central to Wodiczko's work, exploring social and political marginalisation through creating solutions for alienated and excluded communities to "develop their shattered abilities to communicate" and share their experiences with others. His artistic practice is a exercise in democracy, an attempt to poke at politics and social structures through unexpected and controversial art forms.
The current Abolition of War exhibition at London's Work Gallery takes its name from Wodiczko's proposal to radically transform the Arc de Triomphe de L'Etoile into the structural centrepiece of the Arc de Triomphe - World Institute for the Abolition of War, thus reframing the traditional war monument as a site of education, critical discourse and proactive work towards peace.
The two projects featured in this exhibition, The Flame and War Veteran Vehicle, bring into focus the post-traumatic conditions experienced by returning soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan. Both projects are based on a set of interviews conducted by the artist with anonymous war veterans and their families, revealing the difficulties of re-integration and the impossibility of re-connecting with their previous lives.
The Flame, first presented at Governors Island, New York in 2009, is a projection of a single flame flickering in response to the emotional impact of vocal testimonies by American war veterans and their families. Hypnotic and compelling, the flame draws the viewer into a state of reflective intimacy with these unseen narrators. The Abolition of War also documents the War Veteran Vehicle, an itinerant video installation exhibited in Liverpool during the Abandon Normal Devices Festival in 2009. For this work, Wodiczko fitted a high-power projector onto the weapons platform of a military Land Rover and 'fired' fragmented statements by returned British soldiers onto the facades of public buildings, accompanied by the sound of cannon fire.
Krzysztof Wodiczko lives and works in New York, Boston and Warsaw. He is Professor of Art, Design and the Public Domain at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, and has exhibited internationally and received a great deal of critical acclaim over the past five decades. Since 1980 he has created over 80 projections in the public space all over the world.
The Work Gallery is hosting a private viewing with the artist of the show between 18:00-21:00 on Saturday, the 15th of October.
Krzysztof Wodiczko's work is also currently on show at the National Gallery of Art in Sopot between the 7th of October - 20th of November, 2011, presenting a photographic and film documentary that attempts to answer the question "what can we do to make the public space truly public?" The series of photos depict various projections created by the artist in the '80s - a traditional blend of iconic architecture, cutting slogans and the deconstruction of ideological narratives taken outside of the gallery space.
The film segment of the exhibition presents all of the artist's major projections from the 1990s, in which the artist uses various video, audio, projection to present a realistic picture of the world of marginal societies - the homeless, immigrants, war veterans, victims of violence.
Curator: Bożena Czubak.
The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue of Krzysztof Wodiczko's major projects from 1980 - 2010, with essays by curator Bożena Czubak and Krzysztof Wodiczko.
Krzysztof Wodiczko - The "Abolition Of War" in London takes place at the Work Gallery between 19 October 2011 -14 January 2012.
The Work Gallery
10A Acton Street, WC1X 9NG
www.workgallery.co.uk
Krzysztof Wodiczko - Selected Works 1980-2010 takes place at the National Gallery of Art / Państwowa Galeria Sztuki in Sopot (Plac Zdrojowy 2) between 7 October 2010 - 20 November 2010
Source: press release
Also see:
Krzysztof Wodiczko - Institute for the Abolition of War
Black Dog Publishing Presents Krzysztof Wodiczko