(Above) Melanie Manchot, Double Portrait, Mine and Müge (2009). © the artist
Exhibition: Journeys With No Return, A Foundation London, London, February 18 – March 14 2010
Of the huge number of people who have left Turkey during the past 50 years, the largest individual group has ended up in the UK.
Millions went to Germany between 1950 and 1970, playing their part in the Bundesrepublik economic recovery after World War Two, but the 200,000 who now live in London represent the vastest population of Turks in any city outside of their native country.
Taking their impact on art as a starting point, this show visits a myriad of issues posed by global migration, collating everything from a group of Romanian intensive strawberry pickers in a film by Adam Chodzko to Zenib Sedira’s haunting Floating Coffins and a "steel carpet" installation by Mike Nelson.
Adam Chodzko, The Pickers, Ionut, Estera and Mihai (2009). Video installation with sound. Courtesy the artist
"Contemporary art has a unique role to play in a globalised world," says Curator Peter Cross.
"It can speak across cultures in a powerful, direct way, but it doesn't lose the originality and freshness of its voice.
"It's the same video in Shanghai or Glasgow, yet it speaks to a completely different context. It is a perfect medium to discuss migration."
Inspired by a book of poems by Turkish writer Nazim Hikmet, Cross and fellow curators Levent Çalikoglu and Alice Sharp have forged links with cultural bodies, theatrical groups and galleries across the UK, Turkey and Germany to form this intriguing multi-disciplinary exhibition.
Adam Chodzko, The Pickers, Strawberry Factory (2009). Video installation with sound. Courtesy the artist
Like its subjects, the show is nomadic – it kicked off at Istanbul's Akbank Sanat in September last year, and will head to Berlin in June.
"I wanted the opportunity to work in three cities, with two other curators I admire and a very good group of artists," says Cross.
"For me, culture is about flux and change. I'm totally against this idea of a culture being some kind of healthy body that gets invaded with new viruses or whatever.
"That idea was dreamed up in the 19th century to justify nationalism and racism and we still suffer from it."
Ergin Çavusoglu, Silent Glide (2008-2009). Three channel synchronized HD video installation, sound, continuous loop (video still). © Ergin Çavusoglu
He sees a world where more people are moving as technology breaks down borders, highlighting the "profound similarities and differences" in the trio of cities.
"A gallery, like an airport, looks pretty much the same anywhere, but it is showing art to a local audience and context," he explains.
"This is a big show with strong artists, so there are a lot of voices. Zineb finds resonances of transportation in forgotten railway sidings. Clemens von Wedemeyer has made a cinematic work which is as much a tribute to modernist masters as it is about crossing a border."
He says the curators have "no dogmatic position", but all three relate strongly to the theme.
"The five Turkish artists involved all live and work abroad," he adds. "European artists like Mike Nelson, Melanie Manchot and Olaf Nicolai show globally.
"The thing we all feel strongly is that migration is an issue which increasingly affects everyone everywhere, and must be addressed critically as well as passionately."
A Foundation, Rochelle School, Arnold Circus, London. Open 12pm-6pm. Admission free, visit the venue online for more details.
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