March 11–May 1, 2016
Opening: March 10, 6:30pm
OSA
Arany János utca 32
1051 Budapest
Hungary
Hours: Tuesday–Sunday 10am–6pm
www.osaarchivum.org
www.somekindofopposition.org
Based on films by Ádám Csillag and Fekete Doboz
“Committee secretary János Berecz… spoke of a ‘certain group’ which was ‘moving in the direction of some kind of opposition’” (1).
Galeria Centralis of Vera and Donald Blinken Open Society Archives presents SOME KIND OF OPPOSITION, an exhibition by artist and photographer, Axel Braun.
The artistic research project revisits the unresolved controversy about the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros Dam System, a disputed infrastructure project that has been partly established along the Danube in Hungary and Slovakia since 1977.
The exhibition traces the activities of Duna Kör (Danube Circle)—one of the first environmental initiatives in Central and Eastern Europe—and its substantial role as a civic movement during the years of regime change in Hungary. Video footage from the 1980s and early 90s by documentary filmmakers, Ádám Csillag and Fekete Doboz (Black Box) provides the base for Braun’s artistic approach to the topic.
Found footage from archives and personal collections as well as new photo and video productions are contextualized within the framework of a multimedia installation. On the one hand, the exhibition tells the story of a civic movement that successfully opposed an authoritarian regime. On the other hand, it provides an ideal example for the complex processes and discussions that characterize the developments of our living spaces in the age of the Anthropocene. Furthermore it is meant to contribute to the current discussions about European integration and anti-democratic tendencies in Central and Eastern Europe.
The exhibition is supported by Kunststiftung NRW and the Vera and Donald Blinken Open Society Archives. The artistic research project has been supported by a Visegrad Scholarship at the Open Society Archives in 2014 and an Artist-in-Residence Fellowship by the Institute for Advanced Studies and Visual Studies Platform at Central European University in 2015/16.
A collateral program with panel discussions, presentations, and film screenings will extend the focus of the exhibition. Program updates and further information are provided on www.osaarchivum.org and www.somekindofopposition.org.
About Axel Braun
Axel Braun (1983, Germany) is an artist and photographer. His complex artistic research projects deal with controversial infrastructure projects, tautology as an attempt to understand reality, as well as failed utopia in art and architecture. SOME KIND OF OPPOSITION is a new case study in his long-term project Towards an Understanding of Anthropocene Landscapes.
For his work and projects he received grants and prizes, e.g. by Goethe Institut, RWE foundation, and the Young Artists’ Award of North Rhine-Westphalia. Since 2006 his work has been presented in group and solo shows, e.g. at Palais des Beaux-Arts (Paris), Hartware MedienKunstVerein (Dortmund, Germany), Kunstmuseum Bochum (Germany), and tranzit.sk (Bratislava).
(1) B-WIRE / 02-JUN-86 04:59, 1986. HU OSA 300-40-1: 276/3.; Energetika, Erömüvek, Vizerömü, Bös-Gabcikovo-Nagymaros, 1986 [3 of 3]; Records of the Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty Research Institute; Donald and Vera Blinken Open Society Archives at Central European University, Budapest; (At the time of the statement János Berecz was member of the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party and central committee secretary for ideology. He was seen as a possible successor of János Kádár).
