XU BING
Born in 1955 in Chongqing (CN). Lives and works in Beijing (CN)
Telephone, 1996-2006 9 printed pages with markup and highlighting Courtesy the artist | |
As in the popular game "Telephone", Xu Bing translated an extract from a Chinese book (that deals with the problem of translation) across 9 languages and ultimately back into Chinese. With each translation, the text changes its meaning. Each translation represents a rewriting of the text, leading to an entirely new text. What are the limits of translation? Can translation be linked to invention?
SYLVIE BOISSEAU & FRANK WESTERMEYER
Born in 1970 in Thiais (FR). Born in 1971 in Essen (DE). Live and work in Geneva (CH) & Berlin (DE)
Chinese is a plus, 2008 Two-channel video (40’), 2 photographs 30.3 x 37.4 cm each Courtesy of the artists | |
Sylvie Boisseau & Frank Westermeyer explore the different motivations that inspire Europeans to learn Chinese. While the conversations among adult Germans reveal the economic nature of their desire to learn the language, for students of Chinese origin the desired proficiency is a question of cultural identity. Why do we learn languages, and what does speaking a foreign language mean to us?
ERIK BÜNGER
Born in 1976 in Växjö (SE). Lives and works in Berlin (DE)
The Allens, 2004 Video, 28’18’’, computer-generated voice sample soundtrack Courtesy of the artist | |
Erik Bünger finds a comical way of raising the question of the relationship between languages, gestures, voice, and cultural identity. He equates the experience of dubbing with a form of "possession" whereby the movie character takes on a new personality. In the video, he unites all of Woody Allen's voices in different languages, creating a character that constantly changes attitudes and remains incomprehensible. What is the relation between language and personality?
LUIS CAMNITZER
Born in 1937 in Lübeck (DE). Lives in Great Neck, New York (US)
Insults, 2009 Wall text in English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Russian, French and Galician Installation, dimensions variable Courtesy of the artist & Alexander Gray Associates, New York | |
Although the assertion seems at first to feed a feeling of nationalism, the coexistence of several languages makes this work ludicrously counterproductive. The artist, who in the 1960s was one of the first to use written language as his artistic medium, humorously implies that to each territory there corresponds a dominant language, and the degree of one's proficiency in it is a factor in social integration or, on the contrary, in social exclusion. How can a language, which on principle serves to communicate, be used to exclude people from society?
ESRA ERSEN
Born in 1970, Ankara (TR). Lives and works in Istanbul (TK) & Berlin (DE)
If You Could Speak Swedish, 2001 Video, colour, sound, 23 min Courtesy the artist and collection Moderna Museet, Stockholm | |
Esra Ersen is an artist who frequently works with migrant communities. For this piece, she worked with a group of refugees in Sweden, capturing their difficulties in learning Swedish. For them, learning this language means a new hope, but also signifies the loss of their native language and identity. One can learn a foreign language, but can one learn to be "at home" in a foreign language?
MLADEN STILINOVIĆ
Born in 1947 in Belgrade (ex-YU). Lives and works in Zagreb (HR).
An Artist who Cannot Speak English is No Artist, 1992 Acrylic paint on artificial silk 140 x 250 cm. Courtesy of the artist | |
Mladen Stilinović illustrates the pressure exerted on artists who increasingly feel they need to speak English in order to be recognized on the international art scene. He ironically holds up his banner to oppose the capitalist system and its globalizing vision of the world of art. Is English indispensable? Are there alternatives?
JAKUP FERRI
Born in 1981, Pristina (XK) | Lives and works in Amsterdam (NL) & Pristina (XK)
An Artist who Cannot Speak English is No Artist, 2003 Video, colour, sound, 3 min 56 s Courtesy Galeria Arsenał, Białystok and Podlaskie Towarzystwo Zachęty Sztuk Pięknych Collection II, Poland | |
12 years ago, when Jakup Ferri (who is now a successful artist living in Berlin) was an art student in Kosovo, he responded to the banner by Mladen Stilinović with this small confessional video. He hardly spoke any English at the time – so rather than making sense, he makes visible the struggle – and the embarrassment – of being an artist without speaking the art world's language.
RAINER GANAHL
Born in 1961 in Bludenz (AT). Lives and works in New York (US).
Basic Chinese, 1993-present Study sheets (selection, 95 ex., 22.9 x 30.5 cm chaque) Video, colour, sound (selected material, 200’ approx.) I Hate Karl Marx, 2010 Video, colour, sound, 5’49” | |
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Most of Rainer Ganahl's artistic work derives from the experiences – and the many difficulties and failures – of learning languages. Throughout his artistic career, Ganahl has obsessively learned Chinese, Arabic, Japanese, Italian, Russian, Korean, Greek, as well as various European dialects. Ganahl systematically records his own efforts. Basic Chinese consists of a selection of study sheets from his decade-long effort to learn Chinese. Can language-learning be a form of art?
The video I Hate Karl Marx imagines a world where Chinese culture and language has completely dominated and pushed away Western culture. Is such a future possible? How is language related to power?
DORA GARCÍA
Born in 1965 in Valladolid (ES). Lives and works in Barcelona (ES).
Letters to Other Planets, 2005 Translation of the exhibition’s press release in 12 languages 12 x 21 x 29.7 cm. Courtesy of the artist, FRAC Bourgogne collection & Galerie Michel Rein, Paris | |
Dora García adds twelve minority languages to the press release (normally in Galician and Spanish, sometimes in English). She suggests that the use of these languages may constitute an advantage rather than a handicap, potentially reaching out to audiences that are otherwise not being addressed by cultural institutions. Who do art museums "speak" to with their exhibitions – and what language(s) should they use?
JOSEPH GRIGELY
Born in 1956 in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts (US). Lives and works in Chicago (US)
People are Overhearing Us, 2012 Pigment print on dibond, acrylic glass; 1.2 x 3.75m Courtesy of the artist & Air de Paris, Paris | |
Joseph Grigely explores the creative potential arising from the encounter between oral and written forms of communication. His “Conversation Pieces” are based on the notes used in exchanges with non-hearing impaired people (the artist had lost his hearing in childhood). While the exact sense of these notes is unknown, Grigely invites us to find, imagine, and reinvent all sorts of meanings. What happens when usual ways of communicating fail?
NICOLINE VAN HARSKAMP
Born in 1975 in Hazerswoude (NL). Lives and works in Amsterdam (NL).
English Forecast, 2013 Unique live performance and video work (38’) As part of BMW Tate Live Performance Room, Tate Modern Courtesy of the artist | |
Nicoline van Harskamp recorded persons of different nationalities talking about their experiences with speaking English as non-native speakers. Brought together, these testimonies make up a scenario that is played by four voice actors specializing in dubbing and different accents. This piece examines the way English, which is increasingly becoming a global "lingua franca", is being transformed by non-native speakers. In what language will we communicate in the future?
SUSAN HILLER
Born in 1940 in Tallahassee, Florida (US). Lives and works in London (GB)
The Last Silent Movie, 2007 Video (200 min., sound and subtitles only) 24 etchings (37 x 42.5 cm, framed) FRAC Bourgogne Collection | |
Researchers estimate that approximately 25 languages become extinct every year, and with them there vanishes a wealth of knowledge about their culture, nature, and history. Susan Hiller recorded the voices of the last speakers of endangered or extinct languages. What is the value of those languages and the rich oral traditions they represent? Should they be preserved? What conditions have led to their disappearance?
CHRISTOPH KELLER
Born 1967 in Freiburg (DE). Lives and works in Berlin (DE)
Interpreters, 2008 Video installation (interpreters’ cabin, video projector, headphones,DVD/Video, 26 min, sound) Courtesy of the artist & Esther Schipper, Berlin | |
Upon Christoph Keller's invitation to reflect on their experience, five professional interpreters talk about how their multilingual education has shaped the way they exercise their profession. Being an interpreter means identifying with the person whom one translates behind the scenes as well as immersing oneself in another language. It is also a way of belonging to multiple places, of bridging various experiences of the world. Is it really possible to "learn" how to be an interpreter – or is rather a "state of being" between languages and cultures?
ZINEB SEDIRA
Born in Paris in 1963 (FR). Lives and works in London (GB), Paris (FR) & Algiers (DZ)
Mother Tongue, 2002 [Mother and I (France) / Daughter and I (UK) / Grandmother and Grandaughter (Algeria)] 3-screen installation with headphones, 4’33’’ each Musée national de l’histoire de l’immigration, Palais de la porte Dorée | |
Zineb Sedira acts as a translator between several generations of her family that, due to their respective migrations from Algeria to France, and later from France to the United Kingdom, no longer speak the same language. Drawing on this family history, she examines the ideas of identity preservation and loss, which are tightly intertwined with the oral transmission of family memory. How is language related to identity? Can an identity consist of multiple languages?
INGRID WILDI MERINO
Born in 1963 in Santiago de Chile (CL). Lives and works in Biel & Geneva (CH)
Otra mirada a lo insignificante, 1982-2014 25 photographic prints and texts, dimensions variable 49 Nord 6 Est – Frac Lorraine Collection | |
In the course of her career, Ingrid Wildi Merino, a Chilean immigrant in Switzerland, has experienced first-hand the relation between language proficiency and access to employment opportunities. Her professional development has gone hand in hand with the changing architecture of her workplaces: from the suburbs to the city center. What role does language proficiency play in climbing the social ladder? What is the relation between language, work and the architecture of the city?