[Oberlist] expozitie "A for Alibi"_DE APPEL

[stefan rusu]

de Appel presents the group-exhibition:

"A for Alibi"
14 July – 19 August 2007
opening: Friday 13 July, from 18:00 at de Appel

Artists: James Beckett (RSA 1977), Mariana Castillo Deball (MEX,
1975), Sebastian Diaz Morales (ARG, 1975), Suchan Kinoshita (JAP,
1960), Brian O'Connell (BEL, 1972), Tine Melzer (GER, 1978), Irene
Kopelman (ARG, 1974) and Maria Barnas (NL, 1973).

Curator: Uqbar Foundation

"A for Alibi" is a group exhibition curated by the Uqbar Foundation, a
platform for interdisciplinary exchange, working in close
collaboration with research institutes such as universities,
libraries, museums and archives. The way different disciplines and
sections of knowledge approach the world, how these methodologies
function, and how they contribute to build a collective notion of
reality are central questions for Uqbar. Uqbar is initiated by artists
Irene Kopelman (AR) and Mariana Castillo Deball (MEX). The exhibition
at the Appel represents the final stage of the long-term project "A
for Alibi".

During the preparatory phase of "A for Alibi", a group of artists
known for their reflective approach and interest in research, was
asked to develop a project based on the extensive historical
collection of scientific instruments, objects and documents belonging
to the University Museum in Utrecht. Without specific scientific
foreknowledge, they performed intensive research on the lenses,
photos, documents and prisms in the collection. Within the project not
so much of the technical aspects of the instruments or the exact
meaning of the scientific documents is the primary interest. Science
has produced a repertory of images - for example tables, photos or
experimental data – that represent natural phenomena and visions of
the world. The relation between these images and reality is complex,
in the sense that their meanings are always fluctuating. An alibi –
the plea or mode of defense under which a person on trial for a crime
proves that he was in another place when an alleged act was committed
– contains a comparable twisted relationship between the inquire and
the facts, the mystery and the reality. The drifting dynamic of the
alibi served as a methaphor of the project, in the sense that in the
history of representation the position of the actors is also
constantly shifting.

The art works that originated give interpretations that normally
remain outside science, because they are the product of free
speculation, not bound by academic rules or accountability. The
artists call attention to what is not immediately visible; they unveil
hidden stories or points of forgotten knowledge. In doing so they ask
essential questions: How do we apprehend the world and how are our own
discoveries, devices, and theories actually transforming us? What are
the boundaries of scientific practice and how are they related to
other aspects of society outside of the scientific field? What happens
if the subject and the object being observed are the same thing? How
can we observe and experiment with ourselves? The questions that the
artists raise in their projects and the way they make use of the
Utrecht University Museum's collection are completely different from
an academic ap¬proach. "A for Alibi" aims with its distinct
perspective to give another narrative to the history of science.

For more information about the project visit: www.uqbarfoundation.org
or www.deappel.nl


'Informance' "A for Alibi"
15 July 2007, 14:00-17:00
Location: de Appel
Free entrance, reservation required via: reservation la deappel.nl

In "A for Alibi", the exchange of knowledge and ideas is an essential
part of the lively dialogue between science and the arts. Learning to
operate and understand scientific instruments is a successful way to
stimulate that discourse. On July 15th the Uqbar foundation, in
collaboration with de Appel, organises the 'informance' "A for Alibi".
During this afternoon the accompanying publication of the exhibition
will be presented. Physicist Peter Heering (GER) will demonstrate a
special solar microscope (a device that can project microscopic
species) and artist Carsten Wirth (GER) will explain how a camera
obscura works.

Visit to the Magic Lantern collection of Prof. Willem A. Wagenaar
19 August 2007
2.30 pm bus leaves from de Appel
6 pm return at de Appel
Free. Reservation required: reservation la deappel.nl

On the final day of the exhibition a visit is staged to the private
theatre of professor in Experimental Psychology and magic lantern
expert Willem A. Wagenaar in Zeist. Wagenaar houses one of the largest
European collections of Magic Lanterns, one of the earliest devices
that could project (moving) images. Wagenaar will give a demonstration
as a true 'magic lantern performer': with images, stories and music.

Publication "A for Alibi"
The publication "A for Alibi", edited by the Uqbar Foundation, will be
issued to complement the exhibition. In addition to scientific essays
on, for example, the historical changes in the perception of the
natural world, artists also sketch their personal reflections and
relate alternative stories in different 'case studies'. These indicate
routes towards new ways of looking at, and thinking about, specific
scientific knowledge or objects. With texts by Mika Hannula, Raimundas
Malasauskas, Charlotte Bigg, Erna Fiorentini and Katrin Solhdju, an
interview with Tiemen Cocquyt, and contributions by the participating
artists Maria Barnas, Brian O'Connell, Irene Kopelman, James Beckett,
Sebastian Diaz Morales, Suchan Kinoshita, Mariana Castillo Deball and
Tine Melzer.

Concept: Uqbar Foundation
Design: Manuel Raeder, Mariana Castillo Deball
Published by Sternberg Press
ISBN: 978-1-933128-33-7
Price: EUR 27, -