Extraterritorial

Extraterritorial is a group exhibition which will take place in the Polish Mini Market in Breiðholt, Reykjavik from January 23 – 31 . The exhibition brings together works by Flaviu Cacoveanu Lukas Bury, Vitalii Shupliak and Weronika Balcerak. Curated by Ana Victoria Bruno. Extraterritorial waves together the artists’ and curator’s experiences of migration to create a landscape of elements which reflect upon movement of people and products. Flaviu Cacoveanu, Lukas Bury, Vitalii Shupliak and Weronika Balcerak work with different media and take on diverse angles on the theme of migration and globalism, depicting the complexity of the themes and creating a dynamic journey for visitors and customers of the supermarket. Flaviu Cacoveanu‘s practice investigates formal aspects of art and everyday life, for the exhibition Extraterritorial he will present some new and pre-existent works which reflect on ephemerality in opposition to materiality. Lukas Bury will exhibit new paintings which bring together Icelandic and Polish products, creating a contemporary still-life with aesthetic components from both traditions, reflecting on the nature of immigrants as consumers of two cultures. In collaboration with Weronika Balcerak, reflecting on their Polish origin, they recreated a Makatka (pol. for “wall hanging”), a traditional embroidered tea towel which often hangs in the kitchen of Polish houses. The work has been embroidered by Weronika, iterating a process which is usually done by women, but it’s exhibited under the name of Lukas Bury . In this work they address the gender imbalance present in the country. Vitalii Shupliak presents new works based on recent thoughts on identity and virtuality, considering the way virtuality enacts a new way of construction of the identity where physical distance is mediated and reduced. Ana Victoria Bruno is an Argentinian-Italian curator and art writer based in London, UK, she has experienced migration since an early age and her practice focuses on exploring the complex dynamics involved in the experience of migrating, both on a personal and on a political level. She sees this exhibition as a territory where to engage in a deeper understanding of immigration through themes such as nostalgia, closeness and distance, but also the economical infrastructures which respond to the needs of immigrants. Extraterritorial is a groundbreaking exhibition and interference in the supermarket’s daily life. It was conceptualized in a time, where art institutions remained closed and after the experience of the first lockdowns, supermarkets seem to work out as alternative places for an analogue experience of art.