Solo exhibition The Frontline East by Estonian artist Tanel Rander will be opened at 6.30 pm on 13th January at the Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art (LCCA) Office Gallery. Exhibition will take place till 30th January. The exhibition is part of Tanel Rander’s four years long artistic research - the re-articulation of Eastern Europe, using the concepts of decoloniality.
The transformation of Eastern Europe has been proceeding in different levels and it has been a lot related with changes in Europe. Catching up with the West is just one aspect of the content of Eastern Europe - being within the West and following its changes affect the reality of Eastern Europe much more. In their book Necropolitics, Racialization, and Global Capitalism (2014) Marina Grzinić and Šefik Tatlić write about "the former East" as one of the dark sides of European Union and the West. They relate the dark side mostly with migration and labor politics of Europe, but since 2014 "the former East" occurs as the strategic military frontline, constituted by the regions that have borders with Russia.
This exhibition is not based on the logic of artworks shown in the gallery, instead it is rather a presentation of documented events and proof of a certain reality, by which Tanel Rander attempt to display the phases of transformation of Eastern Europe. Those phases start from the "seeds" of a nation state, being planted in the biopolitical mode of life, proceeding as "germination" or rather neoliberalization in the global context, ending with the "fruits" that artist is forced to observe in the context of the year 2014. This year marks the necropolitical turn and the expansion of the war machine within Europe.
The exhibition is part of Tanel Rander’s four years long artistic research - the re-articulation of Eastern Europe, using the concepts of decoloniality.
Earlier research-related projects:
Decolonize This (2012, Y Gallery, Tartu)
more info: http://decolon.blogspot.com
No Borders - No Difference? (2013, Tartu Art House)
more info: http://nobordersnodifference.blogspot.com
Part of this exhibition is educational program, based on the following events:
Lecture/seminar Three Displays of Eastern Europe (Tanel Rander), 14th of January at 18.30 (LCCA)
Lecture Unlearning Eastern Europe (Tanel Rander), 27th of January at 18.30 (LCCA)
Tanel Rander (1980) is artist, writer and curator from Tartu, Estonia. His artistic practice has been place-sensitive, starting from exact locations up to geopolitics. During the previous years he has been working on his research on Eastern Europe and decoloniality, finding outputs in art exhibitions, performances, interventions and education.
Thanks: 10x10m, Indrek Grigor, Estonian Culture Endowment, Kaisa Eiche, Karolina Kubik
The Exhibition is supported financially by the State Culture Capital Foundation