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Currency Balloon, 100x 720 cm, digital print,
2007
Eisbergfreistadt
Kahn/Selesnick
1st October – 14th
November, 2009
Worlds End Contemporary is pleased to present
Kahn/Selesnick’s European debut of their latest work and first
solo exhibition at the gallery. For this occasion, the artist
duo will present Eisbergfreistadt, a project inspired
by an incident that took place in a Baltic port during the
Weimar Republic.
Mixing facts and fiction, Eisbergfreistadt
depicts the creation and decline of a short-lived utopian
state, with the same name, in the port of Lübeck. In 1923, a
colossal iceberg drifted into the Baltic Sea and ran aground
off the German port. The people of Lübeck declared the iceberg
a free trade state, with the hope that
Eisbergfreistadt would become an offshore financial
heaven.
Bear Parade
(detail), 210.8 x 30.5cm, digital archival print,
2008
More
than a financial success during the hyperinflation crisis of
the Weimar Republic, Eisbergfreistadt attracted all
sorts of curious, travelers, and artists.
Eisbergfreistadt became an important source of
inspiration for artists, including the utopian movement of the
Chrystal Chain founded by artist and architect Bruno Taut and
of which Walter Gropius and Wenzel Hablik were influential.
The Chrystal Chain designed utopian cities, and issued
manifestos on behalf of Eisbergfreistadt’s imaginary
socialist government. Many of their drawings were used on the
emergency money called Notgeld, which was issued in Germany to
supplement the shortage of small currency during the economic
crisis.
The
Iceberg Free State came to an end when a large masked ball was
held to celebrate the creation of the
Eisbergfreistadt bank. During the celebration, the
iceberg split under the weight with one of the parts drifting
towards the arctic and the other melting.
Billion Mark Notgeld, 76.2 x 127 cm, flashe on
paper, 2007
Kahn/Selesnick’s exhibition presents a series of
panoramic photographs taken at the time of the
Eisbergfreistadt, and a variety of objects and
souvenirs created on the Iceberg, stacks of
Eisberfreistadt’s Notgeld, and a painting. This
documenting project explores the historic utopian state where
the artists take us into an apocalyptic fantasy mirroring our
own present reality of economic gloom and global
warming.
Card Game,
210.8 x 30.5 cm, digital archive print, 2007
Nicholas Kahn & Richard Selesnick
have been collaborating together since 1988. They were both
born in 1964, in New York City and London, respectively; and
now live and work in New York. They have exhibited
internationally, at the Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille, the
Nobel Peace Centre in Oslo, the Smithsonian Institution, among
others. Their work is included in many notable collections,
such as The Los Angeles County Museum of Art; National
Portrait Gallery,
Washington DC; and The Philadelphia Museum of Art, as well as
many private and corporate collections. They completed in 2007
a commissioned photographic project for NASA on the
exploration of Mars. Their photographic projects City of Salt,
Scotland Futurebog, and The Apollo Prophecies have been
published by Aperture Press (New York).
King of Birds, 91.4 x 91.4 cm,
digital archive print, 2008
Worlds End Contemporary is a new
gallery representing international contemporary visual artists
working with photography. We work with artists that challenge
the boundaries of the photographic medium, reflecting the
trends and visions of contemporary photography
today.
The
private view will be held on September 30th, 6:30 – 8:30pm at
Worlds End Contemporary.
Works
will be on view 1st October – 14th November, Tuesday –
Saturday 10 am – 6 pm or by
appointment
Worlds End Contemporary
357
Kings Road
London
SW3 5ES
T: +44
(0) 20 7352 9376
E: info @
wecontemporary.com
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