FERNBEZIEHUNGEN (Long-distance Relationships)
location: KVOST
Curated by Zofia nierodzińska and Stephan Koal
With Lesia Pcholka and Uladzimir Hramovich, Zofia nierodzińska, Alicja Rogalska and Aykan Safoğlu
There is a magic and a challenge inherent in long-distance relationships, an eroticising tension of the unfinished and unprotected and the constant challenge of maintaining emotions over large spatial distances.
The project Fernbeziehungen (Long-Distance Relationships), a collaboration between KVOST and the Lectwo Gallery in Poznan, deals with the theme of migration, especially labour migration, that almost always involves a move from less privileged countries and regions to more industrialized and wealthier countries. Its direction is therefore specific: from east to west, and from south to north.
In Germany as a whole, and in Berlin in particular, the largest groups of migrants come from Turkey and Poland. How does the situation of the so-called ‘guest workers’ from the mid-20th century affect the self-esteem and life chances of their descendants? How does migration, associated with the transition period and then the eastward expansion of the EU, affect the status of migrants.
Featuring artists Lesia Pcholka and Uladzimir Hramovich, Zofia nierodzińska, Alicja Rogalska and Aykan Safoğlu. the exhibition explores how the experience of migration shapes one’s identity and relationships with others. This includes those who have left their country of birth, those who have chosen to stay, and those who have been left behind. By focusing on human relationships and connections, the exhibition does not aim to compare the often very different and personal migration stories that have inspired the artists’ work. Rather, it is about relating how migration experiences structure not only the material, but also the emotional aspects of life in different ways.
More at: KVOST
Text of Zofia nierodzińska written with Marija Petrovic
The project is supported by the Foundation for German-Polish Cooperation. In cooperation with Deutsch-Polnisches Haus, Prater Galerie and the Belarusian Community RAZAM e.V.
Accompanying program
23.11.2024
3 pm Artist Tour with Lesia Pcholka & Uladzimir Hramovich, Zofia nierodzińska, Alicja Rogalska and Aykan Safoğlu
6 pm PASKUDNIK Performance by Tubi Malcharzik
6:30 pm Blurring Binaries. Silesian Migrant Condition, Fluid Identity and Politics of Shame a discussion with Tubi Malcharzik (they/them / performer and dramaturge), Julia Nitschke (performer and author) and Alina Strzempa (Slavic linguist and cultural scientist), moderated by Paweł Świerczek (dramaturg, performer, producer and (neuro)queer activist).
07.12.2024
6 pm Wedding Party . Pcholka & Hramovich with a performance and music by DJ Dosaaf (Gleb Kovalski)
18.01.2025
3 pm Curator’s Tour with Zofia nierodzińska and finissage of the exhibition