RE:akt!
RE:akt! Reconstruction, Re−enactment, Re−reporting
RSR l Rotovž Exhibition Salon, Trg Leona Štuklja 2, Maribor
Opening: Thursday, 21 October 2010 at 19:00
Artists: Lucas Bambozzi, Vaginal Davis, IOCOSE Group, Janez Janša, Janez Janša, Janez Janša, Eva and Franco Mattes (aka 0100101110101101.ORG), SilentCell Network (Mare Bulc, Janez Janša, Bojana Kunst, Igor Štromajer).
RE:akt! Reconstruction, Re-enactment, Re-reporting tries both to research on the complexity of this concept and to get rid of it, approaching re-enactment not merely as “live action role-playing” or “living history” but rather as a strategy for cultural critique, analysis and artistic expression. “RE:akt!” – meaning not only “to act again” but also “to respond to / to react upon” and “Regarding: act!”– confronts current ideological and intellectual canons, power structures, policies and distribution channels by re-enacting selected historical and culturally relevant events. Through processes of analysis, deconstruction, re-enactment and re-reporting, the inter-media research and presentation project “RE:akt!” examines media’s roles in manipulating perceptions and creating postmodern historical myths and contemporary mythology. www.reakt.org
Janez Janša is experienced inter-media and conceptual artist acknowledged at home as well as abroad. He has presented his work amongst other at Manifesta 4, Frankfurt; Ars Electronica, Linz; ZKM, Karlsruhe; ISEA, Japan; ARCO, Madrid; Kiasma, Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki; MNAC, Bucharest and MMSU, Rijeka. His artistic work has a strong social connotation and is characterized by an inter-media approach. In 2007 Janez Janša has been awarded with the ARCO/Beep Electronic Art Price.
Groups IOCOSE first performance of a new projekt In the Long Run.
In the Long Run (2010) by art collective IOCOSE is a reconstruction of a possible future high profile media event. The death of pop star Madonna is described in a BBC News special edition, with a journalist and studio guest who go over the details of the fatal car accident, the statements of the VIPs and the reactions of fans around the world.
It is not a true story, but neither is it improbable. All TV networks prepare obituaries about famous people to put on air in the event of an unexpected death. The death of an international figure is not just predictable, it is actually predicted in the video files kept up to date in their archives. In the Long Run is not a fake; it does not attempt to look realistic and it does not expect the viewer to believe in the contents or that the video actually belongs to a famous news network. But it undoubtedly says that when the event takes place, it will be reported in these terms. In reconstructing the future in the past tense, In the Long Run is a catalyst for endless narratives and interpretative developments. Likely or unlikely, inevitable or imminent, but existing in potential form, like the narration of an event that never took place.
The group IOCOSE has been working in Italy and Europe since 2006. It organizes actions in order to subvert ideologies, practices and processes of identification and production of meanings. It uses pranks and hoaxes as tactical means, as joyful and sound tools. IOCOSE thinks about the streets, internet and work of mouth as a battlefield. Tactics such as mimesis and trickery are used to lead and delude the audience into a semantic pitfall.
Curator: Domenico Quaranta
Concept: Janez Janša
Production: Aksioma – Institute for Contemporary Art, Ljubljana
Project partner: UGM l Maribor Art Gallery
