Elena Costelian
Tchernobyl on tour
and
Chourouk Hriech
…et s’en aller
13 September–11 November 2012
La Kunsthalle Mulhouse / La Fonderie
16 rue de la Fonderie
68093 Mulhouse Cedex, France
T +33 (0)3 69 77 66 47
kunsthalle [at] mulhouse.fr
www.kunsthallemulhouse.com
Curated by Sandrine Wymann
Tchernobyl on tour by Elena Costelian and …et s’en aller by Chourouk Hriech are two individual exhibitions which do not only share an exhibition space, but form a rich dialogue. These exhibitions deal with history, both personal and national, linking it with contemporary art and making it into their motivating force.
The two artists have several points in common: both are determined, dynamic and passionate women, from the same generation and of foreign origins. The two exhibitions have also some shared themes: history, mise-en-scène and sincerity.
But it is primarily an intuition that has led to the desire to link them.
Elena Costelian works on recent history, full of areas where we are not yet sure what we think, and where the issues at stake go beyond the individual scale. Her realist installations have a strong theatrical note and inspire shock. It is impossible to innocently pass by one of her works, she destabilises us and makes us lose our bearings, provoking embarrassment and the uncomfortable feeling of being the spectator of a world that does not turn around.
Chourouk Hriech travels within a territory which opens out from the eye to the hand. The artist crosses the distance between the two by following a complex line enriched by her observations, memories and emotions. Her designs, like rhizomes, are spread out on the walls and transport the spectator to a world made up of a thousand different realities, all related to travel and escapism.
Elena Costelian and Chourouk Hriech have two very different forms of expression, but which work together to reveal the complexity of human nature and mood. From chaos to escapism, Tchernobyl on tour and … et s’en aller represent two sincere and attentive readings of the world around us.
Enquiries/Press office: Clarisse Schwarb, T +33 (0)3 69 77 66 28 / Clarisse.schwarb@mulhouse.fr