Through the works of Carlos Amorales, Ovidiu Anton, Valentina Avanzini, Matei Bejenaru, Orit Ishay, Zhanna Kadyrova, Renata Poljak, the show resurfaces an ocean of communicating experiences across geographies of alienation and violence, timelines of war and peace that leave traces across imaginary borders, but also invisible lines that connect and shapes lines of empathy.

Taking as reference point Derrida's concept of hospitality, the exhibition Poetics of Hospitality reflects the unavoidable ambiguities and contradictions for this term, which is close to meaning  to the concept of power through the influence exerted on the Other - migrant/stranger, and which implies an ethical and political dimension.The selection of works is an interplay of various artistic media that reflect the dynamics of power relations surrounding the phenomenon of migration: inter-ethnic conflicts, the abusive effects of neoliberal policies in a global economy, the devaluation of the unaccounted for female labour force in poor countries.

Helplessness, anxiety and injustice transit the human consciousness and take the form of fluid, almost non-translatable languages of resilience in confronting the imminent war, the media violence or the social inequity. These are artistic endeavors of reclaiming a safe ideal of a home, but also the right to human dignity in a hierarchical social order. A kaleidoscopic image of an alienating society, filled with insecurity but also with excesses, and a culture of exile within and beyond its borders is thus shaping. Images of uprooting and displacement, both identitarian and territorial, are metaphorically expressed in nomadic and homeless spaces, transitory or utopian spaces, interwoven on a common map.

The project Poetics of Hospitality. Vol II is co-funded by the National Cultural Fund Administration. The project does not necessarily represent the position of AFCN. AFCN is not responsible for the content of the project or how the results of the project may be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the grantee.
Our thanks to the Artis foundation for supporting the work of artist Orit Ishay in the ”Poetics of Hospitality" series of shows this year.