06.05.2017
02.06.2017
The middle way between different places, cultures and identities.
The middle point that is perfect for observing, marvelling, recording and finding meaning.
The transit zone between photography and other art media.
The meeting place for open-ended narratives about potential and hope.

How does one find a place for oneself in a new context?

Betwixt and Between is a group exhibition about voluntary and forced migration and their impact on a person’s identity. Learning to feel at home is a process that may evolve very slowly, and perhaps never end. Migrants find themselves in a middle ground between familiar and new cultures. The emphasis is usually placed on the difficulties to be surmounted, but the positive emotions released by new opportunities and experiences - wonder, enthusiasm, profound reflection, hope and joy - play just as important a role.

This exhibition focuses on forms of photography that deviate from photojournalism and reportage. The works are concept-based, which enables a layered, emotional and optimistic reading. An open end is suggested by nearly every one of the artists.

The selected artists share a preference for photography as a medium that creates remoteness between themselves and the subject. The photographer can observe from a distance and then gradually move in closer. The camera becomes a social, or socialising, tool. For all of them, photography is simply a point of departure: by adding artefacts and sculpture to the mix, they extend their artistic practice to cross the borders of various media.

It is natural that family relations are a recurring theme. Within a family, the speed of adjustment and the attitude to a new culture will vary. And the role of tradition and a collective sense of otherness are elements of life that surface very explicitly in the family circle.

The artists employ layered narrative structures and make it clear that migration cannot be reduced to simplistic slogans. Betwixt and Between presents complex but positive artistic perspectives on this topic.

Opening

May 6th, 5 p.m.

© Valentina Stellino, Camping in Spain, 2016