THE OTOLITH GROUP: NOVAYA ZEMLYA
from 01 NOV 2014 to 11 JAN 2015
The Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art presents the first exhibition of the work of The Otolith Group in Portugal, as part of its new "Contemporary Projects” series.
The exhibition title, Novaya Zemlya, Russian for ‘New Earth’ or ‘New Land’, refers to the archipelago of remote, irradiated islands located North of the Arctic Circle that were used by the Soviet Union as a test site for nuclear devices during the Global Cold War.The trilogy of films presented in this exhibition is centred on the politics and aesthetics of water, revealing the hydropolitics and hydropoetics of natural resources. Hydra Decapita (2010) enters a fictional world populated by the underwater descendants of drowned African slaves, in order to investigate the historical links between capital, technology and abstraction. The Radiant (2012) surveys the aftermath of 11 March 2011, when the Tohoku earthquake triggered a tsunami that killed thousands and caused the partial meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on the east coast of Japan. I See Infinite Distance Between Any Point and Another (2012) captures the reading of a poem about the sea by artist and writer Etel Adnan, depicting the texture of language that enacts the movement of the ocean.
The Otolith Group was founded in 2002 by Anjalika Sagar and Kodwo Eshun. Integrating film, video, writing, exhibitions, publications and public programmes, their work explores speculative futures and science fictions, as well as the role of the moving image in contemporary society.
The exhibition ‘The Otolith Group’ is organized by Fundação de Serralves - Museu de Arte Contemporânea in collaboration with Fundação EDP.
Curator: João RibasCoordination: Filipa Loureiro
This exhibition is part of the program Contemporary Projects of Serralves Museum.
Image: Hydra Decapita, 2010, film still. Copyright The Otolith Group. Courtesy the artists
Related Activities OPENING
31 OCT (FRI), 22H00, FREE ENTRANCE GUIDED TOURS, TALKS AND SEMINARS
23 OCT (THU), 18h30-20h30 | Museu da Eletricidade (Lisboa)Conference New Perspectives THE OTOLITH GROUP - KODWO ESHUN and ANJALIKA SAGARMEDIUM EARTHHYDRA DECAPITAMore information here
01 NOV (SAT), 18h30-20h30 | Serralves AuditoriumConference New Perspectives THE OTOLITH GROUP - KODWO ESHUN and ANJALIKA SAGARMEDIUM EARTH (2013)More information here
21 NOV (FRI), 19h30 | Museum Galleries Meeting in the exhibition with Francisco Nunes Correia, Professor Catedrático da Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Presidente da Parceria Portuguesa para a ÁguaMore information here GUIDED TOURS BY MUSEUM EDUCATION STAFF
16 NOV (SUN), 12H00–13H00, MUSEUM GALLERIESBy Rita Roque
28 DEC (SUN), 12H00–13H00, MUSEUM GALLERIESBy Rita Roque
Access: by purchase of Museum+Park ticket Exclusive Sponsor of The Museum Exhibition Sponsor
The exhibition title, Novaya Zemlya, Russian for ‘New Earth’ or ‘New Land’, refers to the archipelago of remote, irradiated islands located North of the Arctic Circle that were used by the Soviet Union as a test site for nuclear devices during the Global Cold War.The trilogy of films presented in this exhibition is centred on the politics and aesthetics of water, revealing the hydropolitics and hydropoetics of natural resources. Hydra Decapita (2010) enters a fictional world populated by the underwater descendants of drowned African slaves, in order to investigate the historical links between capital, technology and abstraction. The Radiant (2012) surveys the aftermath of 11 March 2011, when the Tohoku earthquake triggered a tsunami that killed thousands and caused the partial meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on the east coast of Japan. I See Infinite Distance Between Any Point and Another (2012) captures the reading of a poem about the sea by artist and writer Etel Adnan, depicting the texture of language that enacts the movement of the ocean.
The Otolith Group was founded in 2002 by Anjalika Sagar and Kodwo Eshun. Integrating film, video, writing, exhibitions, publications and public programmes, their work explores speculative futures and science fictions, as well as the role of the moving image in contemporary society.
The exhibition ‘The Otolith Group’ is organized by Fundação de Serralves - Museu de Arte Contemporânea in collaboration with Fundação EDP.
Curator: João RibasCoordination: Filipa Loureiro
This exhibition is part of the program Contemporary Projects of Serralves Museum.
Image: Hydra Decapita, 2010, film still. Copyright The Otolith Group. Courtesy the artists
Related Activities OPENING
31 OCT (FRI), 22H00, FREE ENTRANCE GUIDED TOURS, TALKS AND SEMINARS
23 OCT (THU), 18h30-20h30 | Museu da Eletricidade (Lisboa)Conference New Perspectives THE OTOLITH GROUP - KODWO ESHUN and ANJALIKA SAGARMEDIUM EARTHHYDRA DECAPITAMore information here
01 NOV (SAT), 18h30-20h30 | Serralves AuditoriumConference New Perspectives THE OTOLITH GROUP - KODWO ESHUN and ANJALIKA SAGARMEDIUM EARTH (2013)More information here
21 NOV (FRI), 19h30 | Museum Galleries Meeting in the exhibition with Francisco Nunes Correia, Professor Catedrático da Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Presidente da Parceria Portuguesa para a ÁguaMore information here GUIDED TOURS BY MUSEUM EDUCATION STAFF
16 NOV (SUN), 12H00–13H00, MUSEUM GALLERIESBy Rita Roque
28 DEC (SUN), 12H00–13H00, MUSEUM GALLERIESBy Rita Roque
Access: by purchase of Museum+Park ticket Exclusive Sponsor of The Museum Exhibition Sponsor
