Keeping It Real:
Mona Hatoum
Current Disturbance
17 December 2010 – 6 March 2011
Whitechapel Gallery
77-82 Whitechapel High Street
London E1 7QX, United Kingdom
whitechapelgallery.org
The third in a series of four displays from the D. Daskalopoulos Collection, Greece, Current Disturbance (1996) fills the gallery with the sound of electric current feeding flashing lightbulbs in a vast grid of metal cages. As the bulbs light up and fade out at irregular intervals, they illuminate the surrounding room and the mass of wiring covering the floor.
Combining references to the body and abstract art, Hatoum’s installation creates an uneasy sense of threat that provides an open-ended commentary on the state of the world today.
This exhibition is drawn from the D.Daskalopoulos Collection, Greece, as part of the Whitechapel Gallery’s programme to open up important public and private collections for everyone. Devised by Achim Borchardt-Hume, Chief Curator, Whitechapel Gallery, Keeping it Real is a series of four micro-exhibitions, with each one building on the memory of its predecessor. They bring together artworks whose meaning is deeply rooted in the materials employed by the artists.
The fourth and final exhibition in this series, Material Intelligence, 18 March – 22 May 2011 includes artists who use readily available images as their material. These artists’ interest in everyday experiences and objects is seen in Martin Kippenberger’s collages combining iconic Pop art with cut-outs from a German nudist magazine, Seth Price’s wall-mounted silhouettes and Kelley Walker’s digitally manipulated brick painting. Other artists on show include Paul Chan, Sam Durant, Arturo Herrera, Gabriel Kuri, Rivane Neuenschwander, Gabriel Orozco and Ester Partegàs, and a rare opportunity to see works by US artist Cady Noland.
The presentation of the D. Daskalopoulos Collection is part of the Whitechapel Gallery’s ongoing programme of opening up collections that are rarely seen by the public in the UK. Exhibitions are displayed in the dedicated Collections Gallery, one of the new spaces in the expanded building which opened in April 2009. It follows the presentation of 5 displays from the British Council Collection from April 2009 – May 2010. From 3 June 2011 the Whitechapel Gallery presents The Government Art Collection, shown in a public gallery for the first time in its 113-year history. The Whitechapel Gallery’s programme of collection displays is supported by specialist insurer Hiscox.
Notes for Editors
• As part of its programme to open up important art collections to the public the Whitechapel Gallery presents a series of four displays drawn from the D. Daskalopoulos Collection, Greece, one of the foremost European collections of contemporary art.
• As the principal owner, CEO and Chairman, Dimitris Daskalopoulos oversaw since 1983 the transformation of a family dairy business into VIVARTIA S.A., Greece’s largest food company, with leading brands in dairy, bakery, frozen foods and restaurants and 13,000 employees in 29 countries. He sold the business in 2007. Today, he is the Chairman of DAMMA Holdings SA, a financial services and investment company, the Chairman of the Board of the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV), and also a member of the Board of Directors of The National Bank of Greece and of the Mytilineos Group of companies. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Guggenheim Foundation and active in the Tate International Council and the Leadership Council of the New Museum.
• Keeping it Real has been conceived and curated by Achim Borchardt-Hume, Chief Curator, Whitechapel Gallery.
• A fully-illustrated publication, Keeping It Real. From the ready-made to the everyday, detailing each of the 4 exhibitions is published by the Gallery, £17.95.
• The Whitechapel Gallery’s programme of collection displays is supported by specialist insurer Hiscox.
Visitor Information
Keeping It Real: Current Disturbance: Mona Hatoum
17 December 2010 – 6 March 2011. Admission free. Opening times: Tuesday – Sunday, 11am – 6pm, Thursdays, 11am – 9pm. Whitechapel Gallery, 77 – 82 Whitechapel High Street, London E1 7QX. Nearest London Underground Station: Aldgate East, Liverpool Street, Tower Gateway DLR. T + 44 (0) 20 7522 7888 info@whitechapelgallery.org whitechapelgallery.org
Press Information
For further press information please contact:
Rachel Mapplebeck on 020 7522 7880, 07811 456 806 or email
RachelMapplebeck@whitechapelgallery.org
Elizabeth Flanagan on 020 7522 7871 or email
ElizabethFlanagan@whitechapelgallery.org
