System Error

Palazzo delle Papesse opens the first exhibition cycle of 2007 introducing the group show System Error: War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning. The show is co-curated by Papesse chief curator Lorenzo Fusi and New York/Dhaka based artist Naeem Mohaiemen.

Featuring the artwork of more than 40 international artists working in video, music, comics, flash animation, print, sculpture, installation, collage, t-shirts, and various other media, the show will explore the response of artists to the current period of expanded and endless wars, both and intense cross-border battles, and the quiet violence of "disappearances".

The curators set out to explore this fundamental question: if war is universally opposed, why do new conflicts keep breaking out? Is there an addiction to warfare in the human psyche? Has it become a drug we cannot quit? These and many other questions regarding the nature of "soft" conflict; the allure of flags, national anthems and nationalism; and pop culture's fascination with bloody violence are explored in this show.

Artists in the show range from internationally established pioneers (Alfredo Jaar, Chris Marker, Walid Raad, Lebbeus Woods) to newer rising artists (Chris Koji Naka, Rheim AlKadhi, Yara el-Sherbini), as well as people who have never shown in the museum or gallery context (Chaleerat Ngamchalee). While many of these artists have exhibited at venues such as the Whitney Museum, Venice and Sydney Biennials, the two curators also discovered many of these works while attending protest rallies, going to concerts, browsing a comic book store, and surfing YouTube and Flickr. In the choice of artists, mediums and genres, this project represents a look at the future of politically engaged visual arts, both inside gallery walls, and on the streets of modern cities.

As well as the established media of video, sculpture, print, and conceptual art, the show has a special emphasis on newer mediums and genre-breaking work: this includes work in flash animation (Young-Hae Chang), Hollywood mashups (Chris Koji Naka, Jackie Salloum, Christopher Moukarbel), TV satire (Yara el-Sherbini), t-shirt wars (Usman Haque), comic books (Joe Sacco, Dawolu Jabari Anderson), video games (Jon Haddock), library recovery (Tom Nicholson), music mix (Paul D.Miller aka DJ Spooky), street performance (Richard Dedomenici), museum intervention (Meir Gal), radio piracy (Negativland), and musicals (Damir Niksic).

While certain conflicts tend to dominate global media, the curators also emphasized conflicts that often slip outside the global radar. Some of the conflict zones that the artists look at include Lebanese civil wars, Darfur refugee camps, CIA Planes, Beslan school, School of Americas, East Timor library, Hollywood archetypes, Rome assassinations, Iraq chaos, Safe Area Gorazde, D.W. Griffith's night riders, Vietnam's burning monks, Oliver Stone's 9/11 blockbuster, Jetblue's t-shirt policy, Paris' cat graffiti, Iranian embassy takeover, U2's expensive lawyers, Bangladesh's gun love, Thailand's rose coup and Africa's conflict diamonds.

Artists on show: Brian Alfred, Rheim Alkadhi, Dawolu Jabari Anderson, Julieta Aranda, Shishir Bhattacharjee, Sarah Bridgland, Matt Bryans, Kevin Carter, Richard Dedomenici, Birgit Dieker, Meir Gal, Felix Gmelin, Jon Haddock, Usman Haque, Young-hae Chang, Heavy Industries, Alfredo Jaar, Emily Jacir, Agnieszka Kalinowska, Chris Marker, Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky, Carlos Motta, Chris Moukarbel, Chris Naka, Negativland, Chaleerat Ngamchalee, Tom Nicholson, Damir Niksic, Stefano Palumbo, Gilles Peress, Sarah Pickering, Wilfredo Prieto, Walid Raad/Atlas Group, Joe Sacco, Jackie Salloum, Yara El-Sherbini, Francesco Simeti, Speculative Archive, Do-Ho Suh, The Critical Voice, Alejandro Vidal, Lebbeus Woods.

Apart from essays from the two curators, contributions in companion book published by Silvana Editoriale in bilingual edition, will feature the following artists: Ayreen Anastas+René Gabri, Doug Ashford, Jimmie Durham, Jean Fisher, Coco Fusco, Matt McAllester, Josh Neufeld+Martha Rosler, Michael Rakowitz, Raqs Media Collective, Israel Rosas, Collier Schorr.

For the occasion the book will contain a special edition of the first issue of Palazzo delle Papesse's new record label, 21st Century: DJ Spooky - System Error (Al Yamamah mix).

System Error
War is a force that gives us meaning
Kuratoren: Lorenzo Fusi, Naeem Mohaiemen

mit Brian Alfred, Rheim Alkadhi, Dawolu Jabari Anderson, Julieta Aranda, Shishir Bhattacharjee, Sarah Bridgland, Matt Bryans, Kevin Carter, Richard Dedomenici, Birgit Dieker, Meir Gal, Felix Gmelin, Jon Haddock, Usman Haque, Young-Hae Chang HEAVY INDUSTRIES, Alfredo Jaar, Emily Jacir, Agnieszka Kalinowska, Chris Marker, Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky, Carlos Motta, Chris Moukarbel, Chris Naka, Negativland , Chaleerat Ngamchalee, Tom Nicholson, Damir Niksic, Stefano Palumbo, Gilles Peress, Sarah Pickering, Wilfredo Prieto, Walid Ra´ad / The Atlas Group, Joe Sacco, Jackie Salloum, Yara El-Sherbini, Francesco Simeti, Speculative Archive , Do-Ho Suh, The Critical Voice , Alejandro Vidal, Lebbeus Woods