DOROTA GAWĘDA & EGLĖ KULBOKAITĖ — SUMMONING

JULY 1 — 31, 2021
16 ȘEPCARI ST., BUCHAREST

CO-FUNDED BY:
THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE NATIONAL CULTURAL FUND
THE SWISS ARTS COUNCIL PRO HELVETIA
POLISH INSTITUTE BUCHAREST
SUPPORTED BY THE LITHUANIAN COUNCIL FOR CULTURE

OPENING HOURS: TUE — SAT, 3PM — 7PM

Oh, rise, from the earth,
From the dark soil;
What legs, poor me, can I use to lift myself, ah,
Oh, what arms to lean upon;
Ah, my soul, my little heart.
Oh, make your fingernails into spades,
Your palms into shovels;
Oh, throw the soil onto one side,
And the slab to the other.
Turn your hands into shovels. Dig yourself out. Return to me.
(Mouthless Part I)

For their first solo exhibition in Bucharest, artists Dorota Gawęda and Eglė Kulbokaitė bring together Mouthless Part I, a video work in which witchcraft becomes a transcultural and transhistorical signifier, alongside a series of new, site-specific sculptures that extend the topics of the video. 

Mouthless generates the fictitious story of a family conjuring the deceased and the harmed, be it human, plant, animal or anything resisting classification. Through a fragmented narrative, it draws parallels with the historically intertwined development of the monetary system, the depletion of Eastern European woodlands and the contemporary ecological urgency associated with capitalist expansion into the former Eastern bloc. Esotericism and science, folklore and technology stem from the entanglements between the subject and its surroundings, bracketing and unbracketing nature. 

The more present the denial of hybridization is, the more possible an interbreeding becomes, in Latour’s words. Hybridization is embraced by the horror genre, in itself a vehicle for investigating the fear of being considered an outsider or the Other.

Natural materials become leather totems, inspired by characters such as Russian cartoon Cheburashka, changing its shape with each new iteration, much like the oral imaginary of the fairytale. These insentient beings hang from the wall, laying as working tools, waiting to serve unconditionally and eternally for the people that possess them. 

Welcomed by two fans as small shrines pierced with rather dystopian offerings, multiple folkloric and futuristic entities to unfold and cross-contaminate. The source material of the shed is damaged furniture found locally in Bucharest and reworked as to encapsulate the Mouthless video work. IKEA and other flatpack producers are some of the main consumers of illegally logged Romanian timber, much of which becomes chipboard for furniture, contributing to an alarming rate of forest (in many cases old-growth, primeval forest) depletion.

Moving on to the irregular pitchforks that survey the environment, the hay that hides, the working creatures awaiting for attack unless they are offered work, the empty brackets willing to hang the viewer’s desires, all collapse in a mesh of atemporal aesthetics. 

BIO

DOROTA GAWĘDA (b. 1986, Lublin, PL) and EGLĖ KULBOKAITĖ (b. 1987, Kaunas, LT) are an artist duo established in 2013 and based in Basel (CH). Their work spans performance, installation, fragrance, sculpture and video. They have exhibited internationally including: Istituto Svizzero, Milan (2021); Kunstverein Leipzig (2021); Swiss Institute, New York (2020); Kunstverein Düsseldorf (2020 and 2016); Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2018); 6th Athens Biennale (2018); Kunsthalle Basel (2017); ICA, London (2017); MOMA, Warsaw (2016); Berlin Biennale 9 (2016) among others. Their solo shows include presentations at: Swimming Pool Projects, Sofia (2021); Lucas Hirsch Gallery, Düsseldorf (2021); Julia Stoschek Collection, Düsseldorf (2020); Trafo Gallery, Budapest (2020); Amanda Wilkinson Gallery, London (2020 and 2018). They have also participated in numerous international residencies including: Alserkal Arts Foundation, Dubai (UAE); La Becque, La Tour-de-Peilz (CH); Onassis AiR, Athens (GR); Capacete Residency, Rio de Janeiro (BR); Futura AiR, Prague (CZ). Gawęda and Kulbokaitė are nominated for the Swiss Art Awards (2021) and Swiss Performance Prize (2021). The duo are also the founders of YOUNG GIRL READING GROUP (2013—) and co-initiators of its online archive hosted by ARIEL, Copenhagen.