Gone to Croatan—Strategies of Disappearance
4 June–14 August 2011
Dortmunder U (6th floor)
Leonie-Reygers-Terasse
D-44137 Dortmund
Opening hours:
Tue–Wed 10:00–18:00
Thu–Fri 10:00–20:00
Sat–Sun 11:00–18:00
Closed on Mondays
Guided tours:
Each Thursday at 7 pm and each Sunday at 5 pm (included in the admission) If you would like to book a private guided tour, please contact us via info [at] hmkv.de
www.hmkv.de
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.
Partner 2011: Kunststiftung NRW
JUMP – Annual Sponsorship Award for art organisations by Kunststiftung NRW 2011
Main funders of HMKV:
Kulturbuero Stadt Dortmund
Ministry for Family, Children, Youth, Culture and Sport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia
The exhibition is organised in cooperation with the Adam Mickiewicz Institute – www.iam.pl, www.culture.pl.
Supported by:
Centre of Contemporary Art ‘Znaki Czasu’, Torun (Centrum Sztuki Współczesnej Znaki Czasu w Toruniu)
Polish Institute, Düsseldorf
Media partner:
ARTE Creative creative.arte.tv
De:Bug
Video about “Gone to Croatan – Strategies of Disappearance” online at ARTE creative
