"Send a Sign from Below..."

April 23 - May 31., 2015

Participating Artists: Default Productions (János Brückner, Lóránt Bódi), Ágnes Eperjesi, Paul Horn, Barbara Ipsics, Hilda Kozári 

Curated by Erzsébet Pilinger

Diverse anternative sign system and forms appear both in the practice of everyday and in the work of the artists, refreshing contrast of the communication in the more and more one-sided local publicity.

Beyond the entity forming possibilities of the makeable/creatable communication reveal themselves the emancipativ potentials of the regard, irony and humor as well by the documented experiences or as propasal functioning works.

The performance of Ágnes Eperjesi titled Mixed Marriage react on the act for Slovakian language, setting up in 2009, caused a demonstration wave. This act demonstrates the priority of the Slovakian language against the languages of minorities. The artist organized a wedding ceromony according to the local tradition for a mixed marriage, in the marriage hall of the city hall in Komarno. The official registrar however weded an Slovakian-Hungarian and an Hungarian-Slovakian dictionaries as nubiles.

Conncection of language and “languageless”, understanding and misunderstanding, codes and minority are significant of Hilda Kozáris work. The system of the Braille is the medium of her works for a long time, integrating more fields of sensation. Her last work indicates the word “VITA”, what means life in Latin and we use it also in English as vital, vitality etc. In Hungarian the meaning of it is different: debate, discussion, dispute, argument. Without debates we wouldn’t have developments in our society like civil rights and emancipation. The work of Kozári, selecting copper as the material of the scuptures in public space, allocates the context of it at the same time.  By using of a fertilizing material she evokes the cleaning function of discussion (VITA) as well.

The lack of the discussions` democratical esprit became perceivable by the small bunker-object of Paul Horn, appearing video-recors of well-known speeches, declamations. As the artist describes his work: „Whether it is a political speech, a religious sermon, a scientific lecture, a proclaimed artistic manifesto, some wise guidance of a guru or a balance presentation of a CEO in front of his shareholders. Contrary to individual experiences which go along with everybody, the speech always has a connotation of an instruction of a more knowing to an unknowing crowd. The practice of the speech is hierarchically unlike the dialogue or the discussion. Those who speak are spatially disconnected from their public in different ways - raised on golden pulpits, on pedestals or platforms, they are surrounded by microphones or fortified behind plexiglass. The presented constructs tend to assume an independent existence, to become dogmas which mentally exercise control.

A fluid sign-system is shown in Barbara Ipsics video work titled Forbidden Connection, what based on an interview with a young woman, who liaises her fresh emotional contact with her partner closed in jail, from the street, using still partly created hand-signs by woman with similar fate.

The new works of János Brückner and Lóránt Bódi  – extended his project Happiness Manual – present left or unhappy labeled urban spaces, where he placed huge infographics, as manual for relating to get happiness. Aiming the contact of the visual sign with history of the locations, for realising accumulated or by time hidden human stories.

Beyond the parallelism of the ´80-ies and today, beyond the not specificly formed expectations the text of cultic song – which part is quoted in the title of the exhibition – expresses the self-ironical attitude of the exhibited works as well, viz: „... the situation itself has no reason, the change... “

The exhibition is part of the OFF-Biennale Budapest.

Supported by: Austrian Cultural Forum