Two swings swing through the former nave of the Kunsthalle Osnabrück. A nest made of cotton knitting, shadows cast by a corkscrew hazel tree, birdsong and a performance artist in a feather dress drawing with tobacco: The „You Are Splendid!“ exhibition is the result of a research project lasting more than two years, which the Colombian artist Maria José Arjona has dedicated to the bird world of her Latin American homeland and which will continue to change until the end of the project in March.
The exhibition, performance and workshop project was developed by the director of the Kunsthalle, Dr. Julia Draganović and Christel Schulte (Head of Education) in cooperation with the Colombian curator Jose Roca. Roca was head of the Latin American department at the Tate Modern in London from 2012-15 and is now artistic director of FLORA ars+natura in Bogota.
Osnabrück is dedicating the first solo museum exhibition in Europe to the performance artist.
The performance project, which opened at the Kunsthalle Osnabrück on January 31, has strong autobiographical traits. Arjona’s observations of migratory birds began in 2012 in New York, the northernmost point in the hemisphere where the artist, who comes from the equatorial region, has ever lived.
The impetus came from an encounter with Nick, a so-called „birdwatcher“ in New York’s Central Park. The „birdwatcher“ made her realize that she was not the only creature that moved almost invisibly through the streets of New York and actually came from the tropical rainforest.
She learned that the migratory birds of her homeland share a common migration route – along the north-south axis through both „Americas“ – with thousands of Latin American migrants. In stark contrast to today’s global increase in mobility, the „birdwatcher“ fascinated the artist because of the idleness and patience with which he observed the birdlife and identified an „aguilucho“ – a small eagle – that had changed its flight path. Global climate change – the extreme wind conditions in the USA – is also having an impact on the flight movements of wildlife.
The artist spent a whole year on a research trip to find this eagle, which originated from her home country. She often only heard it circling above her, but could not see it. She had not visited her homeland for a decade. When Maria José Arjona arrived in Colombia, the eagle arrived with her. Now she met it in a group. The eagles always make the strenuous flights together.
The storyteller
For someone who, like Arjona, grew up with the „magical realism“ of Latin American literature, the poetic parallels between birds and migrants are obvious: Maria José Arjona translates her personal stories and those of all those who move through foreign countries, climate zones and cultures into images and drawings, objects, sounds and melodies, videos, performances and installations. In doing so, she creates a phenomenology of „home“ – from the perspective of migratory birds.
Visitors to the exhibition in Osnabrück can expect an exhibition, performance and workshop program that unfolds further levels of meaning as part of the concept of the „School of Empathy“ in collaboration with Christel Schulte (Head of Education at Kunsthalle Osnabrück). The exhibition opens up new perspectives on the seemingly familiar, accustoms the ear to the often overheard and draws attention to the small and large wonders as well as the horrors and fears that emanate from the migratory movements of our time.
Maria José Arjona calls her performative process „sightings“ („sighting“ in English, „avistamiento“ in Spanish) and her view of the project can be found on Tumblr:
http://avistamientos.tumblr.com/post/136753177871/sighting-avistamiento
The exhibition, performance and workshop project „You Are Splendid!“ is part of a performative process that will continue until the end of the exhibition. Maria José Arjona is constantly rebuilding and rearranging, creating new contexts in which she will present a different performance on each weekend in February. Visitors and other artists are invited to co-create, co-think and co-experience.
Performance dates:
Sunday, January 31, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Flugplan: A first encounter, a display and a tableau vivant.
Friday, Saturday, Sunday February 5-7, 4 p.m. each day
Der Zweite Botschafter: A tobacco ritual for spiritual purification and expansion of knowledge.
Friday, Saturday, Sunday February 12-14, 2 to 6 p.m. each day
Leben: A meditative sound performance.
Friday, Saturday, Sunday February 19-21, each from 2 to 6 p.m. A
Vöglein hat mir gezwitschert: An invitation to be all ears.
Friday, Saturday, Sunday February 26-28, 12 to 6 p.m. each day
Migration: A moment of leisure and conversation.
Friday, March 4 and Sunday, March 6
Flug: A poetic group performance about the magic and the difficulties inherent in taking to the skies.
