03 Jun 2011

'Gone to Croatan - Strategies of Disappearance' at Hartware MedienKunstVerein (HMKV)

Gone to Croatan - Strategies of Disappearance

Curated by Robert Rumas (Gdansk) and Daniel Muzyczuk (Torun)

With works by:
Bas Jan Ader (NL), Sebastian Buczek (PL), Erik Bünger (SE), Susanne Bürner (DE), Heath Bunting (UK), Eduard Buridan (FR), Hubert Czerepok (PL), Lara Favaretto (IT), Fischli & Weiss (CH), Pawel Freisler (PL), Goldin+Senneby (SE), Lukas Jiricka / Paul Wirkus (CZ/DE), Kollektive Aktionen (RU), Jiří Kovanda (CZ), Tomasz Kowalski (PL), Katarzyna Krakowiak (PL), Jacek Kryszkowski (PL), Zbigniew Libera (PL), Andrzej Partum (PL), Agnieszka Polska (PL), Leszek Przyjemski (PL), Robert Rumas (PL), Daniel Rumiancew (PL), Syreny TV (PL), Adam Witkowski (PL), Julita Wójcik (PL), Ziemia Mindel Würm (PL)


The first European colonists in the New World disappeared leaving behind the settlements and a paper note with the words 'Gone to the Croatan'. The Croatan were an Indian tribe living in neighbouring territories. They are said to have murdered the settlers, however, reports concerning green-eyed Indians seem to contradict that version of events. A hypothesis suggests that the settlers went on a trip into another dimension.

Disappearance is generally associated with defeat. What is invisible is external to public life, and the invisible have no influence on the direction a community is taking. What will happen, however, if we scrutinise specific gestures? When shall we face attitudes that perceive the act of 'descending underground' as part of strategy? Such small-scale practices frequently constitute exercises in a Utopia, which – although unattainable on a global scale – may be available to the individual.

Social exclusion can take many forms. It may result from unfavourable circumstances, or from an autonomous decision taken by an individual wishing to be excluded. The project aims at exploring these practices and their causes with special attention given to the variety of gestures establishing private utopias. Works and gestures that have come to light during the project Gone to Croatan reveal real stories of disappearance and detective search for traces of what has become ghostly, and confront them with artistic fiction taking up the theme of self-exclusion.

In exchange of HMKV's exhibition 'Awake are only the Spirits' – On Ghosts and their Media (2009-2010) at the Centre of Contemporary Art 'Znaki Czasu' in Torun (Centrum Sztuki Współczesnej Znaki Czasu w Toruniu), HMKV invited the curators Robert Rumas and Daniel Muzyczuk to bring their exhibition Gone to Croatan (realised in 2009 in Torun) to the Dortmunder U. The 2011 exhibition establishes a reference to HMKV's exhibition on Disappearance, Loss of World and Escaping the World (PHOENIX Halle Dortmund, 2005), and conceptually extends the topic into new territories.

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GONE TO CROATAN - STRATEGIES OF DISAPPEARANCE

Location:
Hartware MedienKunstVerein (HMKV)
Dortmunder U (6th floor)
Leonie-Reygers-Terasse
44137 Dortmund

Duration:
4 June – 14 August 2011

Opening:
Friday, 3 June, 2011, 6 pm

Opening hours:
Tue – Wed 10:00 – 18:00
Thu – Fri 10:00 – 20:00
Sat – Sun 11:00 – 18:00
Closed on Mondays

Admission:
5 € / 3 €

Guided public exhibition tours:
Each Thursday at 19:00 and each Sunday at 17:00
HMKV at the Dortmunder U, 6th floor (included in the admission)
If you would like to book a private guided tour, please contact us via our office.

Partner 2011: Kunststiftung NRW
JUMP - Annual Sponsorship Award for art organisations by Kunststiftung NRW 2011

Main funders of HMKV:
Kulturbüro Stadt Dortmund
Ministry for Family, Children, Youth, Culture and Sport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia

Supported by:
Centre of Contemporary Art 'Znaki Czasu', Torun (Centrum Sztuki Współczesnej Znaki Czasu w Toruniu)
Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Warsaw
Polish Institute, Düsseldorf
Foundation for German-Polish Cooperation
City Life, Bochum

Media partner:
ARTE Creative creative.arte.tv
De:Bug

Website:
www.hmkv.de

Contact:
Hartware MedienKunstVerein (HMKV)
Hoher Wall 15 (office)
44137 Dortmund
E-Mail: info@hmkv.de

Press Relations:
Hartware MedienKunstVerein (HMKV)
Steffen Korthals
Hoher Wall 15
44137 Dortmund
Tel: +49 173 7280989
E-mail: steffen.korthals@hmkv.de