From 1 August Berlin will be my home as I start an artist residency at exe archive that will last for 6 weeks. The residency will culminate in an event in September and a short exhibition. Let us introduce the project:
Bare Minimum
In this project Record Turnover explores displacement as suffering. Record Turnover has existed for several years as a platform for underground and under-represented music, but with this project a root cause of marginalisation is explored – through publishing and printmaking. As a third culture designer, writer, musician and DJ it is part of their mission to create despite oppression due to ethnic/gender/class identities. Bare Minimum examines the effects of hardship on cultural expression.
The idea for the project came a couple of months ago as I watched Wheel of Ashes by Peter Emmanuel Goldman (1969). The film is shot in Paris by an American director and most of the dialogue is in French, except for the main female character who is played by a Danish actor. In the film she is newly arrived from Denmark and trying to learn French. But the subtitles were in Spanish, because I could only find it on a Russian website.
In the film Pierre goes through a spiritual crisis, as he turns away from his life, from his lover and reverts to asceticism. A life with no home, no food, no love is exactly what displaced people face. With Bare Minimum I want to explore what happens to diasporas – especially artists and musicians – who suffer through pain and oppression in the hope of gaining a foothold, perhaps success or at least recognition. The enquiry will take the shape of a publication, where the content comes from people who are faced with displacement – be it due to war, political oppression or danger due to their ethnic or gender identities.
I’m looking forward to tell you more once the project is underway. Big thanks to exe for believing in it and making everything possible.
If you want to visit the studio, it’s located in the basement under the exe shop in Schillerkiez.
