Missing Links

After a six-year absence, the artist collective frontviews is returning from Berlin to organize exhibitions with European artists in Athens, strongly supported by the local Athenian community. During this period, the Axis Athens–Berlin has emerged as a central discursive model for the bipolar concentration of problems currently haunting the European construct. Introducing various double binds and oppositions—such as Poor South – Wealthy North, Common Needs – Austerity, State Property – Private Ownership, or Democracy – Neoliberal Elite—into the discourse has not only helped to illustrate this complex loop of emergency, but also reinforced prejudices, promoted role models, and shaped clichés. A distant northern perspective—felt to be in a superior position—has dominated both the narrative and the actions of the political elite.

Yet especially in cultural debates, the Athenian art scene has succeeded in establishing a shifted, self-confident perspective on its own situation, breaking free from the constraints of the northern gaze. This new self-awareness is perhaps best summed up by the slogan: South as a State of Mind. In 2017, this development culminated in documenta 14, held equally in Athens and Kassel under the motto “Learning from Athens”—an extraordinary attempt to overcome dialectical confrontation and to practice decentralized solidarity. The curators’ intentions were evident, for example, in their decision to incorporate themes from the influential new art magazine South as a State of Mind into documenta’s official publications. At the same time, however, this case also revealed the fundamental structural problems of such cultural outsourcing.

Now in 2018, as if a certain quiet has returned to the relationship, we find ourselves once again reflecting on the current situation between the two capitals’ art scenes. What are the political correlations between the two countries, and how do they affect the lives of artists in each? What themes dominate the cities today? In other words: Are there links between the artistic production of the two scenes? Or are too many links already missing? Are we searching for connections—perhaps now more than ever? Could it be that the superior double bind narrative has lost importance and even no longer affects the cultural class at all? Are we indeed more connected than we think by living an artist life more or less excluded from the promises of prosperity that the neoliberal class enforces, no matter if south or north?

Frontviews Berlin explores these questions with »Missing Links«, hosted by Daily Lazy in Athens. Later this year, frontviews will host a show by Daily Lazy in Berlin. By bringing together some of the works and their creators, we aim to maintain and refresh our bonds—face to face.