Gluklya’s Feminist Practice Builds Social Interdependency at Van Abbemuseum
From December 1, 2018, to April 28, 2019, the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven showcased 'Positions #4,' curated by Charles Esche and Diana Franssen. This exhibition highlighted activist practices and included contributions from artists such as Naeem Mohaiemen, Sandi Hilal, Alessandro Petti, and Gluklya (Natalia Pershina-Yakimanskaya). Gluklya worked with refugees at the Wenckebachweg center, establishing her studio at Lola Lik. Notable pieces featured were 'Language of Fragility' (2017), 'Embracing all the strange' (2017), and 'The Carnival of Oppressed Feelings Trying to Overcome Suffering' (2017), which was performed on October 28, 2017. The exhibition underscored themes of social practice, co-creation, and political solidarity with marginalized groups.
Key facts
- Exhibition 'Positions #4' at Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, 1 Dec 2018–28 Apr 2019
- Curated by Charles Esche and Diana Franssen
- Featured Gluklya, Naeem Mohaiemen, Sandi Hilal and Alessandro Petti
- Gluklya’s project developed under Utopian Unemployment Union
- Collaboration with refugees and asylum seekers at Wenckebachweg refugee center in former Bijlmerbajes prison
- Studio set up at Lola Lik creative hub in Bijlmerbajes
- Video 'Language of Fragility' (2017) shows word-matching game
- Video 'Embracing all the strange' (2017) features Kurdish activist Tuncay Korkmaz
- Performance 'The Carnival of Oppressed Feelings Trying to Overcome Suffering' on 28 Oct 2017
- Carnival involved 150 participants, march from Bijlmerbajes to Dam Square
- Inspired by Mikhail Bakhtin’s medieval carnival concept
- Gluklya co-founded Factory of Found Clothes in 1995 with Tsaplya (Olga Egorova)
- Gluklya is a member of Chto Delat collective since 2003
- Her work 'Clothes for the demonstration against the false election of Vladimir Putin' shown at 56th Venice Biennale in 2015
- Exhibition design recreated artist’s studio atmosphere
Entities
Artists
- Gluklya (Natalia Pershina-Yakimanskaya)
- Naeem Mohaiemen
- Sandi Hilal
- Alessandro Petti
- Tsaplya (Olga Egorova)
- Tuncay Korkmaz
- Robert Steijn
- Pavel Arseniev
Institutions
- Van Abbemuseum
- Utopian Unemployment Union
- TAAK
- Lola Lik
- Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers COA
- Factory of Found Clothes
- Chto Delat
- Office for Metropolitan Architecture
- UNESCO
- Fair City movement
Locations
- Eindhoven
- Netherlands
- Amsterdam
- Bijlmerbajes
- Wenckebachweg refugee center
- St Petersburg
- Russia
- Venice
- Italy
- Arsenale
- Dam Square
- Jerusalem
- Palestine
- Dheisheh Refugee Camp
- Syria
- Kurdistan
- Turkey
Sources
- Afterall —