Oliver Ressler's dual Rome exhibition critiques capitalism and migration

Austrian artist Oliver Ressler (b. 1970, Vienna) presents two concurrent exhibitions in Rome: a retrospective at Pastificio Cerere covering 13 years of video works, and a show at The Gallery Apart. Curated by Mike Watson, both are titled 'Transnational Capitalism Examined' with subtitles 'Border as a Method' (gallery) and 'Dancing on Systematically Important Graves' (pastificio). Ressler's work addresses democracy, economy, climate change, social resistance, and alternatives to capitalism through video, installation, and public interventions. A notable piece, 'Light Box,' ironically shows an oversized Italian flag covering Palazzo Montecitorio, with the artist's statement: 'No flag is big enough to cover the shame of innocent deaths.' The exhibition also features a carpet mapping European migration routes and the video 'Emergency Turned Upside-Down' (2016), critiquing state responses to refugees. The series 'Standed' (2015) depicts corpses washed ashore—not migrants but obsolete managers, symbolizing capitalism's end. Runs until November 26, 2016.