Press Kit (August 30th/31st, 2012) - Goldmann Public Relations ...

NEWTOPIA: The State of Human Rights
Contemporary Arts Exhibition in Mechelen and Brussels
01.09. – 10.12.2012
and graffiti exposing political repression in Egypt; and for his outspoken
criticism of the Egypt’s ruling military council. His work has become one of
the driving forces of political and revolutionary graffiti on Cairo's streets. For
NEWTOPIA Ganzeer has created a new mural for the exhibition. In the
artist’s words: “Exactly one year from Egypt’s January 25 th revolution,
millions of people marched to Cairo’s Tahrir square throughout the day.
Some carried flags, some donned scarves in anticipation of a governmental
crackdown and others carried the portraits of our fallen martyrs. Most
dominant of the martyr portraits was the face of Khaled Said, the
Alexandrian kid tortured to death by local police. January 25 th was the day
of revolutionary pilgrimage, Tahrir Square was revolutionary Mecca and
Khaled Said was revolutionary Jesus Christ. Experiencing that day made
me ponder what would become of the January 25 th mythology as time went
by. Would stories of Khaled Said’s belief and lifestyle be made up and
shared? Would details of his torture be passed down from one generation to
the next? Would Tahrir Square become a holy shrine where millions of
people went in hopes of summoning some sort of revolutionary spirit?
Taking the idea further, well what if a completely fictional “prophet” was
created? One that advocated a global revolution that never really
happened. What if portraits of that so-called prophet adorned walls across
the globe? What would be made of these surviving portraits 5 years from
now? How about 10 years from now? 50? 100?”
3. LEFT OVER RIGHTS (2012)
NEW INSTALLATION BY NEVAN LAHART (IRELAND, 1973)
ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS
Nevan Lahart makes labour-intensive work in a wide variety of media
creating irreverent social commentaries that are often highly politically
charged but also pervaded by a biting sense of humour. The installation Left
Over Rights is a new commission for NEWTOPIA. Through the use of
cardboard and other lo-fi materials, Nevan Lahart has transformed the
entrance of the Academy into an expansive, playful, anarchic and critical
installation. His confrontational, wry approach compels us to ask questions
of ourselves and of the society in which we live. As the artist himself says,
“Human Rights are morphing into the Human Resources Dept. of a
Transnational Corporation. The corporate west bangs its imperial drum to
the tune of democracy for all, while at the same time eroding the
sovereignty of the Old World Order and replacing it with a new servitude of
financial serfdom. It is time we were less foolhardy and more cowardly of
this Brave New World”.
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