A Short Reflection 1,2,3

Series of posters that examines current work conditions in the field of art from a (self-)ironic point of view:

The poster A Short Reflection #3 (A short reflection on the rule and its exceptions) takes up anecdotes and incidents that happened during the preparation for a group show in Dallas, Texas, as an iridescent stage set for the “the artists”, who in a Buster-Keaton-like choreography stumble from one setting to the next. Being addressed in different roles, whether subcontractors in a just-in-time production chain or private investors in their own business, “the artists” as allegorical characters mirror the traits of hyper flexible artists-in-residence in a Brechtian-like role-play.

A Short Reflection #3 (A short reflection on the rule and its exceptions) was presented and distributed at Art for Living, a group show organized by Lab’Bel, in the frame of the Swab Art Fair, Barcelona, in 2011.

A Short Reflection #2 (a small cartography for artworkers) places the subjective experience of power and pleasure in the heart of artistic production. A number of questions and advisories – mapped in a diagram and written on top of a photography – address gender issues, affective dimensions and political strategies in the production of art. “Do you get your pleasure from submission and subversion? What keeps you going?”

A Short Reflection #2 (a small cartography for artworkers) was created for All My Independent Women, a collective exhibition and publication as part of an ongoing series, initiated and organized by Carla Cruz. A Casa da Esquina, Coimbra, 2010.

A Short Reflection #1 (Gallery Discussion Berlin), a small pamphlet mimicking the official design of the advertisement for the event Gallery Weekend Berlin, was distributed without prior permission or announcement among the crowd of visitors of the galleries’ openings on May 1, 2009. While during the day students and freelancers of various professional fields participated in a march to protest against precarious work conditions, at the evening a huge number of “artworkers” returned to their “business as usual”: as gallery assistants, freelance journalists, networking artists and curators.

The yearly event Gallery Week Berlin serves as a showcase and meeting point for the artworld, not only in the numerous galleries as official participants, but also in several project and artists-run spaces who organize their openings and events in parallel to the official schedule. While the event receives international attention, the producers in the background find themselves caught in two conflicting roles, at the same time affirming and opposing the question of work on the historical day of May 1.

A Short Reflection #1 was developed for and distributed during the opening of the Gallery Weekend Berlin in 2009