I Know the World

Fucking Good Art / Tamar Guimarães / J&K / Søren Lose / Tanja Nellemann Poulsen & Grete Aagaard / Daniëlle van Zuijlen


Guest curated by Lise Nellemann (Sparwasser HQ, Berlin)

Opening Reception: Saturday 12 January 2008, 21.00 hrs

Exhibition from: 12 January – 1 March 2008
Location: SMART Project Space, Arie Biemondstraat 105-113, Amsterdam


Opening hours: Tue – Sat, 12.00 – 17.00 hrs

‘I Know the World’ focuses on the issue of artists in transit and the manner in which the production of artworks is influenced by experiences abroad. 'I Know the World' is an exhibition and a day of talks focusing particularly on works and artistic practices that have been informed by encounters with another local context, often as a result of the artists’ participation in international residencies. As with the previous edition of 'I Know the World', which took place at Sparwasser HQ in Berlin in 2007, this exhibition relates to issues of internationalism, mobility and cultural differences, but especially aims to take a closer look at the art works themselves. The works are based on research, sensibility and insight gained by the artists on location and some include presumptions and personal artistic strategies which function as useful obstacles when encountering the host country and a foreign context.
Artist duo J&K bring forth ideas of the Orient framed by their own culture and mix them with what they actually observe and discover in their host country. The result is a work that brings to life a futuristic fiction where religions fuse and new world orders unfold before our eyes. Søren Lose's work comments on the heritage of Danish culture by juxtaposing the classical icons of so called Danish national romanticism with his own photographs and found tourist snap-shots. The work also reflects on how a country succeeds in bringing home an international artist when he gains foreign recognition and questions how the artist's work is then inscribed into national art history. Tamar Guimaraes’ work ‘Jan Leton and the Archive’ uses footage of outdoor theatre play, re-enacting a historical situation around a former slave, Jan Leton. 'Today, please stay home! Please stay home today stay home stay home home home home' is a quote from a digital running text display that is part of Tanja Nellemann Poulsen & Grete Aagaard´s installation ‘Set Up Tours …’. With this work the artists express a critical voice towards these clichés of the 'travel and life style industry' images. Daniëlle van Zuijlen is currently finishing a five-year residency in the town of Hoorn. In this sort of inverted residency, she stays in her ‘own’ country and hosts visitors from abroad. She presents a pamphlet that can be taken home by visitors. 'Hosting' in a slightly different sense is also introduced by the artist duo Nienke Terpsma & Rob Hamelijnck. Through their participation in residencies the artists produced and published issues of the magazine 'Fucking Good Art' collaborating with artists in the host cities. These issues will be presented in the exhibition.

Artist talks with Søren Lose, J&K, Tanja Nellemann Poulsen & Grete Aagaard and others will take place on Sunday 3 February 2008 at SMART Project Space, in collaboration with Trans Artists, an independent foundation based in Amsterdam that informs artists of any discipline about international residencies.