Borderlines, the new exhibition by Talbot Rice Gallery, was conceived to coincide with Brexit and to provide a much broader, conceptual perspective on what borders are and how they impact us. My opinion of this large group show grew on me. I left the opening of the exhibition with rather mixed feelings. Having known Tremble Tremble and the strong, unapologetic position shown through such exhibition; I was disappointed by the silent, calm and pragmatic approach of Borderlines. I acknowledge that this might make Borderlines contrast with the confused and noisy mediatic panorama we are surrounded by as Brexit approaches. However, a part of me felt that the exhibition lacked in addressing the loud and brutal human nature of migratory and border conflicts. Especially since Brexit- as the contemporary political situation of many European nations- comes partially as a response of a ‘migratory crisis’. I was disappointed by the distant, pragmatic and static tones which were used to discuss borders as they de-humanized the concept (as only three artworks are openly focused on people).
As I couldn’t make peace with the unsettling sensation I had about Borderlines; I contacted James Clegg (assistant curator) and Tessa Giblin (director). They kindly walked me through the exhibition and their curatorial perspective shed new light on the approach of borders. The watershed was the title of the exhibition itself. Tessa explained that Borderlines appeared to her less literal than Border as the former embedded the possibility of transgression and trespassing into it. With this new perspective, I started to notice a fil-rouge which I had previously missed. Albeit the theme of borders was explored more like a ‘top-down form of territorial control’ and as a bureaucratic system; each artwork presented a form of rebellion to such structures. Episode of the Sea and Preah Kunlog showed the resilience of populations to overcome the limits of borders and nullify sovereign system of territorial restriction. Salarium proves borders to be an ephemeral human construction as natural resources disobey them through their connection and mobility, as also proven by the alien species in The Journey. As James pointed out ‘action doesn’t always look like such’. This answered my dilemma over the static representation of artworks meant to be a call for subversion such as Troika Fiscal Disobedience Consultancy. As Tessa explained, the static nature of this artwork embeds even stronger danger as it uses a tool of elite power, such as finance, to subvert the same elitist system. A similar tension is created by the stagnant impression of awaiting in Between which shots empty landscapes where the Irish-British border used to be and where it might be placed back. Personally, my favourite act of disobedience is represented by Monument to Another Man’s Fatherland: Revolt of the Giants. The artists were forbidden to film the Pergamon altar as it could arise new discussion about themes of appropriation and repatriation. They, however, recreated it through a collage and recorded it. The idea of appropriation and transgression of legal and regional borders is furtherly enhanced by the read description, in German, of the altar by Turkish migrants. This artwork is paired with the ECA cast of the Elgen marbles, always at the heart of strong debate possibly worsened in the advent of Brexit.
Personally, this exhibition has some criticality. I found disappointing the presence of only a few non-European perspectives in the dialogue. Such absence and the general approach tended to de-humanize and detach the exhibition from contemporary themes such as the migration crisis. James addressed this concern highlighting that, rather than focusing on single events, the artworks presented a rather continuous historical narrative of resilience which overcame the interference of borders. I appreciated this embedded message of hope and the hint to disobedience inspired by nature and history. However, I still believe that as society grows numb towards victims of migration, an artwork counterbalancing the static, pragmatic approach of the theme could have been of use. Bearing in mind this, a comprehensive exhibition on the theme was unfeasible and the actuality of the discussion possibly called for more distant tones which put into perspective Brexit offering a positive message about the possibility to overcome it.
- Backbone @ Underbelly Bristo Square - 23rd August 2019
- Goliath in the Water @ Assembly Checkpoint - 22nd August 2019