In May (After October)

Andreas Bunte (Germany), Duncan Campbell (Ireland/Scotland), Thea Djordjadze (Georgia/Germany), Matias Faldbakken (Norway), Claire Fontaine (France), Luca Frei (Switzerland/Sweden), Cyprien Gaillard (France), Luis Jacob (Peru/Canada), Pia Rönicke (Denmark), Nora Schultz (Germany)

Organized by Kathrin Meyer and Tim Saltarelli

May 8 – June 13, 2009

Opening Reception: Friday, May 8, 2009, 7:00 – 9:00 pm

In May (After October) takes its title from two revolutionary moments in Western history, the Russian October Revolution of 1917 and the French student protests of May 1968. Importantly, it also makes reference to the social and political change that many hope will follow from the recent American Presidential election. This widespread call for ongoing change provides a platform for a consideration of the political currency of aesthetic practice. In particular, this exhibition focuses on photographic images, videos and films all working to articulate a productive refusal. From virtual abstraction to appropriated archival images and experiments with narrative structure, this international group of artists moves beyond creating easily consumed and didactic depictions. Together their works raise questions, asking how we can find new ways to say ‘no’ and form suggestions for alternatives, both politically and aesthetically.

In May (After October) is presented in association with the Goethe-Institut, Toronto and the Contact Toronto Photography Festival.

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About the Organizers

Kathrin Meyer lives in Berlin, Germany, where she works as an editor for argobooks. She has worked on several artist books and exhibition catalogs and was a curatorial assistant for the exhibition project Between Two Deaths at ZKM in Karlsruhe, Germany, in 2006.

Tim Saltarelli is an artist and curator living in Brooklyn, NY. He is a graduate of the Image Arts program at Ryerson University, Toronto, holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and works at
Elizabeth Dee Gallery, New York, where he organizes exhibitions.

Duncan Campbell, Falls Burns Malone Fiddles Poster, Screen print on paper, 2007
Duncan Campbell, Isolate the Enemy, 2009
Luca Frei, Everything was to be done. All the adventures are still there, poster, 2007
Cyprien Gaillard, video still from Desniansky Raion, video installation, 2007

Cyprien Gaillard, Field of Rest, polaroid, 2008
Cyprien Gaillard, Field of Rest, polaroid, 2008
Claire Fontaine, First Flight 2001, Two twenty-five cent coins, steel box-cutter blades, solder and rivets, 2005
Matias Faldbakken, In May (After October), 2009

Pia Rönicke, Rosa’s Letters – Telling a Story / Model, Slide show (80 slides) and model (cardboard, paper, color prints), 2006
Pia Rönicke, Rosa’s Letters – Telling a Story / Model, Slide show (80 slides) and model (cardboard, paper, color prints), 2006
Pia Rönicke, Rosa’s Letters – Telling a Story / Model, Slide show (80 slides) and model (cardboard, paper, color prints), 2006
Pia Rönicke, detail of Rosa’s Letters – Telling a Story / Model, Slide show (80 slides) and model (cardboard, paper, color prints), 2006

Andreas Bunte, video still from O.T. (Wohnung), 16mm, b/w, silent, 2006
Thea Djordjadze, detail of Time Future Contained in Time Past II, watercolour on paper, 2008
Thea Djordjadze, detail of Time Future Contained in Time Past II, Watercolour on paper, 2008
Claire Fontaine, La Société du Spectacle Brickbat, Brick and brick fragments, elastic band, and archival print on archival paper, 2006

Thea Djordjadze, installation view, Time Future Contained in Time Past II, watercolour on paper, 2008
Thea Djordjadze, installation view, Time Future Contained in Time Past II, watercolour on paper, 2008