A World Not Ours / Part 2

The  exhibition, which began last summer at the Schwarz Foundation’s Art Space Pythagorion, on the island of Samos, Greece, aims to  counteract  the  standardised,  simplified  and  one-dimensional  portrayal  of  the  refugee  crisis,  often  reduced  to images  of  rickety  boats  and  the  perilous  sea  crossings  from  Turkey  and  Libya.  Instead,  it  looks  into  the beforeand afterof these  dramatic moments.

While  the  first  chapter of  the  exhibition  focused  on the experience  of  flight,  the precariousness of the journey and the clandestine economy that fuels the plight of the refugees, this iteration at La Kunsthalle Mulhouse will extend its focus to what happens once refugees have reached the ‘promised land’. The exhibition  also  looks  into  how  European  citizens  experience  the  migration  crisis,  and  explores  problems  of  the representation of suffering, the ‘ownership’ of refugee images and who has the right to represent them.

The exhibition  includes  a  group  of  artists,  photographers,  filmmakers  and  activists  who  mostly  come  from  the  Middle East  or  South-Eastern Europe,  from  countries  that  have  experienced  war,  exodus  and  perilousness  first  hand.  They have a proximal and intimate relation to trauma and communal experiences of suffering. Deploying diverse practices such as installation, photography, film, video and direct action, the work of the participating artists provides deeper insight into the plight of the refugees and points to the complex roots of the situation, while contextualising it within the larger global picture.

Curatored by  Katerina Gregos

Artists: Azra Akšamija, Taysir Batniji, Tanja Boukal, Ninar Esber, Aslan Gaisumov, Mahdi Fleifel, Stine Marie Jacobsen, Sven ’t Jolle, Sallie Latch, Eleonore de Montesquiou, Giorgos Moutafis, Marina Naprushkina, Juice Rap News, Somar Sallam, Mounira Al Solh, Diller Scofidio & Renfro, Mark Hansen, Laura Kurgan and Ben Rubin in collaboration with Robert Gerard Pietrusko and Stewart Smith

This exhibition is co-produced with Schwarz Foundation.