MAKE
SPACE MAKE DUST
Yingmei Duan and
Elana Katz
Performance:
Tuesday 22. May, 7pm
Exhibition: 22 –
30 May, 2012
Yingmei Duan and
Elana Katz present Make Space Make Dust, a collaborative performance
that works with gravestones as a material.
The
artists explore their mutual intrigue with the cultural practice of burial and
use of commemorative gravestones, as well as the practice in Germany
of making space by removing and disposing of graves at the
conclusion of the rental period. This collaboration is largely informed by the
family histories of each artist, current cultural practices in dealing with the
dead, and confronts the topics of historical perception, modification through
time, memory, disappearance, and loss.
This
work has been made possible, in part, by the support of Herr Thoralf Rospino of
Grana Steinmetzhütte, Berlin.
Yingmei
Duan Yingmei Duan is a curious observer who asks questions of all facets
of life in order to continuously learn and develop. Much of Yingmei’s performance art explores
human instincts such as fear and desires. Various different themes inspire Yingmei
and are reflected in her work including examining society and questioning its
conventions and human behavior. Yingmei Duan has made her name in numerous national
and international exhibitions and festivals including the Venice Biennale
(2007), Witworth Art Gallery, MIF Manchester, UK (2009), Haus der Kurlturen der
Welt, Berlin (2009), “NON-ALIGNED”, Marina Abramovic Institute West, San
Francisco, USA (2010), “NEW TERRITORIES”, Glasgow, Scotland(2011), Hayward
Gallery, London (2012).
Elana Katz is an
artist working primarily in the mediums of performance and photography. Her most recent work focuses on consciousness
of time and historical perception. Working often from a historical basis,
Katz’s work confronts cultural conventions, critically examines the complexity
that lies within contradictions, and thus aims to create an experience of
unlearning the assumed. Her recent grants have included the DAAD Graduate
Studies Grant (2010) and the Franklin Furnace Fund for Performance Art (2011).
She has recently exhibited/performed at The Marina Abramovic Studio at Location
One of New York, USA (2011) Content @ Museum of Contemporary Art
Tokyo, Japan (2011), and Musée Royaux des Beaux Arts de Belgique, Belgium
(2011), and the Freies Museum Berlin, Germany (2012).
