ARTISTS
Proposals on Monumentality
In 鈥楳onumental Seduction鈥� (1996), Andreas Huyssen suggested that historical, aesthetic and national contexts, along with political and cultural effects, dominate our understanding of the monumental, articulating the issue of the monumental in relation to memory and modernity. Bringing together the works of Asl谋 脟avu艧o臒lu, Iman Issa, Christian Jankowski, Amina Menia, Seher Shah and Santiago Sierra, Proposals on Monumentality attempts to twist and open up our perception of monumentality along with complex dynamics of commemoration, space and power. Curated by 陌pek Ulusoy Akg眉l, the exhibition poses a set of questions for us to reflect upon: Can monuments go beyond representing the past and evoking collective memory? Is it possible for them to resist absorption into memorial narratives? How can monuments express fragmentation and forgetting?
Working across different histories and geographies, Proposals on Monumentality offers possible scenarios and alternative perceptions for monuments. Both Christian Jankowski and Asl谋 脟avu艧o臒lu make specific references to historical monuments: the former humorously suggests a need to fight or challenge history, while the latter rephrases the fragile story of a long-gone memorial. Similarly, Amina Menia gazes at the often-forgotten (and sometimes ignored or harmed) monuments as she draws on Nietzsche: 鈥榯he past must be forgotten if it is not to become the gravedigger of the present.鈥� While Seher Shah demonstrates a formal exploration into monumentality through strong visual gestures, Iman Issa and Santiago Sierra present alternative structures through abstracting an existing monument and imagining a new one respectively.
As architecture receives increasing significance in the Gulf, iconic landmark buildings and large-scale museum projects 鈥� both agents of urban branding 鈥� are popularly described as 鈥榤onuments鈥�. Moreover, the development and redevelopment of cities, in other words constant flux of urban fabric, lead to feelings of dislocation and even spatial amnesia. In light of the region鈥檚 changing political context and urban environment, it is much needed to revisit monumentality鈥檚 complex relation to memory as well as spatial and political dynamics.
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In 鈥楳onumental Seduction鈥� (1996), Andreas Huyssen suggested that historical, aesthetic and national contexts, along with political and cultural effects, dominate our understanding of the monumental, articulating the issue of the monumental in relation to memory and modernity. Bringing together the works of Asl谋 脟avu艧o臒lu, Iman Issa, Christian Jankowski, Amina Menia, Seher Shah and Santiago Sierra, Proposals on Monumentality attempts to twist and open up our perception of monumentality along with complex dynamics of commemoration, space and power. Curated by 陌pek Ulusoy Akg眉l, the exhibition poses a set of questions for us to reflect upon: Can monuments go beyond representing the past and evoking collective memory? Is it possible for them to resist absorption into memorial narratives? How can monuments express fragmentation and forgetting?
Working across different histories and geographies, Proposals on Monumentality offers possible scenarios and alternative perceptions for monuments. Both Christian Jankowski and Asl谋 脟avu艧o臒lu make specific references to historical monuments: the former humorously suggests a need to fight or challenge history, while the latter rephrases the fragile story of a long-gone memorial. Similarly, Amina Menia gazes at the often-forgotten (and sometimes ignored or harmed) monuments as she draws on Nietzsche: 鈥榯he past must be forgotten if it is not to become the gravedigger of the present.鈥� While Seher Shah demonstrates a formal exploration into monumentality through strong visual gestures, Iman Issa and Santiago Sierra present alternative structures through abstracting an existing monument and imagining a new one respectively.
As architecture receives increasing significance in the Gulf, iconic landmark buildings and large-scale museum projects 鈥� both agents of urban branding 鈥� are popularly described as 鈥榤onuments鈥�. Moreover, the development and redevelopment of cities, in other words constant flux of urban fabric, lead to feelings of dislocation and even spatial amnesia. In light of the region鈥檚 changing political context and urban environment, it is much needed to revisit monumentality鈥檚 complex relation to memory as well as spatial and political dynamics.
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