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3/4/2004 - 30/5/2004
Vanda Vucicevic, Aleksandra Vajd, Hynek Alt
UNFINISHED



curator: Lejla Hodzic

in co-operation with schnittpunkt - exhibition theory and practice

From April 2 2004 KulturKontakt Austria will be exhibiting pictures by the three photographic artists Vanda Vucicevic, Aleksandra Vajd und Hynek Alt in the “PiroschkaREV” Pavillon in Vienna’s MuseumsQuartier. The two series of works address themes such as family, ties and affiliations.

Vanda Vucicevic will be exhibiting her series of portraits “Veiled”, in which she is concerned with revealing identities and tracing elements of religion and family which influence our self-awareness. The feeling of affiliation, being a part of something, gives us on the one hand a certain degree of security, the absence of which is largely perceived as great misfortune. On the other hand there arises simultaneously a feeling of constriction. We are forced to define ourselves permanently. The symbols of repression do not necessarily always have to be evident (for example the scarf/veil of Islamic women). For the most part the signs are of a much more personal nature, which lead to emotional or psychological dependency, in each case justified by individual history and societal and social expectations. The photographs staged by Vucicevic recall older, classical paintings of an almost unsettling intensity and a bleak, melancholic mood.

The photographic cycle “Man Woman Unfinished” by Aleksandra Vajd and Hynek Alt originated spontaneously when they both realised that they were soon going to be parents. At first they photographed each other out of curiosity, as a kind of game. This developed rapidly into a self-contained work which reveals an intimate confession of the two of them. The mutual observations can also be seen as a learning process – who my counterpart is, who I have decided to share my life and responsibility with. The conventionalism of natural changes and growth means constantly restoring memory. Each time the pictures define the new border between present and past. “Man Woman Unfinished” is a permanent work-in-progress.

Additional Programme:
“Exchange” – discussion and presentation. Experiences and strategies, potential and pitfalls for inter-city network projects in the arts field; Speakers: Hynek Alt (artist, Prague), Lejla Hodzic (Curator, Sarajevo), Anton Lederer (rotor, Graz), Isa Rosenberger (artist, Vienna), Lorenz Seidler (curator and journalist, Vienna), Aleksandra Vajd (artist, Maribor), Vanda Vucicevic (artist, Sarajevo) Chaired by: schnittpunkt – exhibition theory and practice. Date: 3 April 2004, 3.00 pm to 6.00 pm

“Photographic Positions” – Closing of exhibition and round table discussion with the artists Hynek Alt, Aleksandra Vajd, Vanda Vucicevic and Ines Gebetsroither (art historian, Vienna) and Lejla Hodzic (curator, Sarajevo). Date: 30 May 2004, 5.30 pm to 7.00 pm

Short biographies:
Vanda Vucicevic was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia in 1978 and studied Media Arts at the Central St. Martins College of Art and Design in London from 1998 to 2003. During this period she spent a year (1999 – 2000) in Rome, studying photography at the Istituto Europeo Di Design.

Aleksandra Vajd was born in Maribor, Slovenia in 1971 and studied veterinary medicine in Ljubljana, followed by still photography at the FAMU (Film and TV Institute at the Academy of Performing Arts) in Prague. In 2002, together with Veronika Drahotová and Veronica Broumová, she founded the HOME Gallery for contemporary art in Prague. Since 2003 she has been working on her PhD on the theory of photography. In 2002, together with Hynek Alt, Vajd taught for a year at the FAMU. She has already been given several awards (Emzin Magazin, 1999; Zlata ptica/Golden Bird, 2000) and has been in receipt of various grants (Vordemberge-Gildewart Endowment, 2002; Slovenian Ministry of Culture – New York 2003)

Hynek Alt was born in Kutna Hora, Czech Republic, in 1976 and studied still photography at the FAMU (Film and TV Institute at the Academy of Performing Arts) in Prague from 1994 to 2001. During this period he spent a year in London as a visiting student at Middlesex University. In 2002, together with Aleksandra Vajd, Alt taught for a year at the FAMU at the Institute of Photography. He has already been given several awards (Fotogrant 2003, Portfolio Review Award as part of the Festival, “The Month of Photography” 2001, Bratislava). For autumn 2004 he has received a grant for the USA.

“schnittpunkt – exhibition theory and practice”:
Following their first successful collaboration, KulturKontakt Austria and the schnittpunkt association are also working together for the coming exhibition in the Piroschkarev Pavillon. schnittpunkt sees itself as a trans-national network for art producers, art experts, curators and art lovers, which aims to encourage reflection about the current scene and experimentation with innovative exhibiting practices. The co-operation with KulturKontakt Austria is an expression of this networking mentality. As a platform outside the institutionalised art establishment schnittpunkt offers its members the opportunity for inter-disciplinary exchange and discussion.

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