MYTORO Gallery is pleased to present a collaborative exhibition between four artists: Seokkyu, Bekim Retkoceri, Gazmend Ejupi and Mathew Reece Pollard.

For the ‘Now+Here= Nowhere’ exhibition the participating artists have imagined a documented research into the ‘lives’ of abandoned objects and their unchangeable essence, whether it be by choice –Mathew Reece Pollard’s – ‘Of course his gift was only to reflect light back onto himself, to illuminate the greatness that was Caledon Hockley’; Bekim Retkoceri’s – ‘Falling of a High Horse’ by destruction; Gazmend Ejupi’s ‘The Ground on which I Stand’- by neglect, or by it’s changeable appearance as seen in Seykkou’s work ‘Now+Here=Nowhere’ and ‘Skimmed Mirror’.

The title of the exhibition is based on the video installation ‘Now+Here= Nowhere’ (6:14 min.) and the performance ‘Skimmed Mirror’ by Seokkyu, which talks about the relationship between "reality" and "idea", also about human dichotomous thought.

“Now” means “present”, and “here” is the “space”. When the two words combined, it’s “nowhere”.

The essence of the object or phenomenon is unchangeable, but it is possible to change the image of the essence in consciousness.

Everything as the image is in the continuous circulation. It has been happening in nature, religion, culture, even the process of self-awareness.

Reality is changing as images, so we cannot define the shape of the essence exactly. Does the essence have an accurate appearance?

Mathew Reece Pollard’s ‘Of course his gift was only to reflect light back onto himself, to illuminate the greatness that was Caledon Hockley.’ (Jpeg on 40” Monitor, portrait, and mix media)

The work explores the value of fictional precious objects. These objects will inhabit the same space as the narratives that contain them, locked behind a screen. The imagery depicts them with an over exaggerated significance in familiar cinematic scenes, while the scenes themselves are rendered as deficient bric-a-brac. The piece uses the romanticised film of the “Le Coeur de la
Mer” (heart of the ocean), better known as James Cameron’s ‘Titanic’, as a satire of political economic propaganda.

Gazmend Ejupi’s ‘The Ground on Which I Stand’ is based on a speech given by the great American playwright August Wilson (1945-2005) on the occasion of the Theatre Communications National Conference in New York in 1996. A key part of Wilson’s statement was about the difficulties he was having in separating his concerns with theatre from his concerns of his life as an African-American. 'It is difficult to disassociate one part of my life from another. I have strived to live it all seamless ... art and life together, inseparable and indistinguishable. The ideas I discovered and embraced in my youth when my idealism was full blown I have not abandoned in middle age when idealism is something less the blooming, but wisdom is starting to bud.

The ideas of self-determination, self-respect and self-defense that governed my life in the ’60s I find just as valid and self-urging in 1996.’
Taking the cue from Wilson’s plea, Ejupi’s video-installation aims to investigate the impossibility of separating art from life and how they contribute to shaping our vision of society. Ejupi shares with Wilson an interest in theatrical forms of representation as well as a constant struggle to define his cultural and geographical identity. The resulting sense of displacement is reflected in his video-installation accompanied by the interview.
Bekim Retkoceri’s ‘Falling of a High Horse’ – represents the sustainability of a public monument. Permanent public sculpture of monumental-size monuments representing figures of political leaders that end up being put down or destroyed.
What we are left with is fragments of history, fragments which are constant reminder that something heavy and powerful will be reduced into something quite insignificant. Creating a sculpture with these fragments would result into an endless column.

This exhibition marks the first collaboration between the four artists after years of acquaintance. The choice of investigating their own individuality, as well as issues of nostalgia, belonging, absence, integration and diversity, through a joint statement reveals an exploration of everyday reality counterbalanced by complementary narrative models.
The public display of their perception of the changes that have characterized their lives is an invitation to enter a moment of collective history and experience a personal one.

Veranstaltungszeit: 12:00 -20:00 Uhr

Quelle: mytoro.de