SYNTOPIA

May 19–23, 2015

What do plants have to do with social phenomena such as democracy, dictatorship, or migration? In the group exhibition of Kitti Gosztola, Gábor Klima, and Kata Tranker, the plant world appears—among many other things—as a metaphor for art itself. In the exhibition Syntopia, the artists explore current issues of plant and human communities along the lines of social phenomena. Uncovering the deeper layers of conceptual pairs such as migration–emigration, democracy–dictatorship, and community–individual, they turn toward classic situations that depict the opposition between culture and nature: public parks, the “natural” spaces of state self-representation, or trees mutilated as a result of human activity. The survival strategies of plant communities and their adaptation to a constant state of vulnerability reveal surprising parallels with the strategies practiced by artists. The struggle for survival and the unpredictable benevolence of power are part of everyday reality. Just as a space or a public park can become a tool in the hands of the state, so too can an artist. Independence—although a difficult and painful process—may in the long run result in a sustainable condition. Without cultivation, a plant develops freely: roots break through concrete, parks grow wild, forests cross state borders without supervision. Network-like organization forms the essence of contemporary visual art and stands in complete opposition to violently centralized and controlled practices. It is a rhizomatic structure whose significance lies in the fact that it continuously reproduces itself, always and anew.

Exhibiting artist: Kitti Gosztola, Gábor Klima, Kata Tranker

Venue: Dover Language Center (1075 Budapest, Király utca 9. 1st floor auditorium)