{"id":45233,"date":"2017-01-31T14:58:53","date_gmt":"2017-01-31T13:58:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/?p=45233"},"modified":"2017-01-31T14:58:53","modified_gmt":"2017-01-31T13:58:53","slug":"dominique-gonzalez-foerster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/dominique-gonzalez-foerster\/","title":{"rendered":"Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster: Nationality Doesn\u2019t define Us"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the defining features of transcendent art is that it perceives connections where there\u2019s seemingly none, and it launches you into a new dimension. Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster has been making such art since the 1980s in the form of large, immersive installations that are haunting and engrossing. For instance, in \u201cTH.2058\u201d (2008) the artist imagined London in 2058 by turning Tate Modern\u2019s Turbine Hall into a shelter for people and artworks. She filled the vast hall with bunk beds while playing a film made of short clips from sci-fi movies, in a nod to possible states of catastrophe that have recently become more relatable than we would\u2019ve wished.
\nRecent projects have seen the artist collaborating with fashion label BLESS and Manuel Raeder in \u201cCostumes & Wishes for the 21st Century\u201d, where costumes from the artist\u2019s 2013 apparitions explore the spirit of transformation. While for group show “The Infinite Mix” in London, Gonzalez-Foerster lip-synchs Maria Callas in full gown. Displayed in the form of a chilling holographic apparition in the back of a cavernous space at the Store, the work plays with our perception of reality and multi-sensory memory.
\nWe met the artist at her latest major commission at the newly opened MAAT in Lisbon<\/a> – \u201cPynchon Park\u201d – to discuss the meaning of national identity, the influence of literature in her art and the dystopian rise of the far-right.
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“For me utopia is only two streets away from dystopia” – Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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\"Dominique Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, “Pychon Park”<\/p>\n

SLEEK: Because of your name I’ve always wondered where you’re from?
\n<\/strong>Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster: My father is half French half Spanish, my mother is German but I grew up in France. But I never feel French.
\nWhy don’t you feel French?
\n<\/strong>It’s too limited to this kind of national identity also I have a German mother and I spend a lot of time in Brazil. I don’t think we are defined by our nationality.
\nOften people refer to you as the French artist though.
\n<\/strong>I actually wanted them to take it out of the text because what does that mean, you know? This kind of definition is completely meaningless. Unless I was really exploring that dimension there is no point. I always get upset when I see this kind of restrictions.
\nSo as a citizen of the world what does utopia mean to you?
\n<\/strong>It’s a word I never use. For me utopia is only two streets away from dystopia and as much as I am interested in dystopia it has never been part of my work. In fact I think the combination of utopia-dystopia only came after Pedro Gadanho [MAAT’s director] invited me. Initially he only said they were doing a show about dystopia and asked me if I was interested in imagining something for this place that hadn\u2019t been built yet.
\nIt’s interesting here because this is a new place and I like to work with context so this is more like a brave new world. I imagined a situation based on a lot of things I’ve been reading and thinking but I imagined it like a kind of tale. I imagined that some extraterrestrials took over, who wanted to watch humans and to study them, so they decide to set up this place and they noticed that humans like balls and they like books.<\/p>\n

 
\n“I believe in irritation as a great tool to generate stronger memories” – Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Dominique Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, “Pychon Park”<\/p>\n

\"Dominique Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, “Pychon Park”.<\/p>\n

What do you think the aliens would think looking at the space full of people exploring?
\n<\/strong>Well, exactly the same we do when we look at monkeys in the zoo – they sit, they flirt, etc. These extraterrestrials don’t really have bad intentions, they\u2019re similar to humans. When humans build zoos they don’t do it with the intention of hurting these animals. So in that sense it’s really replicating a human attitude.
\nThis is a rather audience based exhibition and you can look at it from many different ways. It\u2019s almost like a stage – but it’s not a theater – that works better with a lot of people because it makes it work (they activate it.) Then there is this moment when you are stuck inside or outside. I think it generates the experience in the sense of a moment and this is not necessarily part of a usual exhibition experience where everything is more based on the premise that \u201cI spend the time than I want in front of the work\u201d. In fact, we build our own time with it. And then suddenly there is a little something. I believe in irritation as a great tool to generate stronger memories. I don’t think our show should be just loungy, and so here there\u2019s a seductive aspect and a philosophical dimension. I like this multi-layered approach.
\nI don\u2019t think my practice carries a specific message bu I am always curious about what it generates. Like when this space is full is very interesting to watch and see if it works and why it works. I felt there were interesting moments watching the people interacting, I like this watching, this double thing of the situation. And to stage that and make that visible is interesting.
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“I grew up in a feminist hippie environment where there was no doubt that there was a kind of progress in terms of ideals and to simply imagine what is happening now would have seemed completely dystopic at that time.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n