Moments of Doubt: Works from the CGAC-ARCO Collections, Spain
Participating artists: Runa Islam, Zilla Leutenegger, Aernout Mik, Carmen Nogueira, Anri Sala, Eve Sussman.
Momentos de incertidumbre (“Moments of Doubt”) was born as an exhibition project from the collections of the ARCO Foundation and the Galician Center for Contemporary Art. A curious look into the depths of the collections, both located in the CGAC, Santiago de Compostela, Spain, reveals some artists’ special interest in collecting testimonies of crisis situations. The conductive thread of this selection is restlessness and doubt, characteristic of our recently-begun 21st century. It attempts to construct an impossible tale, through different senses and atmospheres, offering looks and interpretations of the everyday, the political, and the social.
The videos reflect fragility and uncertainty in situations taken to the limit: the stock market crash in Aernout Mik’s Middlemen, where agents lose control; the anxiety and loneliness of the protagonists of Anri Sala’s Nocturnes – two authentic outsiders who, incapable of controlling their lives, try to control artificial situations. In between, the characters of Sussman’s “meninas” invent and reinterpret moments taken from their proper time and place; Runa Islam keeps us in suspense with an unsettling narration that shows the parallels between two different cities; native Galician Carmen Nogueira helps us search for a Refugio that will welcome us, and Zilla Leutenegger’s smokers provide yet another example of lack of motivation and vital weariness.
The result is a kaleidoscopic vision in which stories, discourses, and different artistic methods converge. Unequivocally, all of them, in their plurality, incite us to reflect upon our roles and behavior in today’s society. Crisis signifies difficulty and opportunity; times of crisis are times that contain opportunity and the promise of ample possibilities… The challenge is to choose an alternative when faced with doubt.
Curator: Cecilia Pereira Marimón
With the support of Xunta de Galicia, Spain