“We share the air we breathe” – this is the fundamental idea underlying the “hongi”, the traditional greeting of the Maori people done by touching foreheads and noses. We share, for example, the elements of earth, air, and water. The current exhibition at the ifa Gallery Berlin is about the “Politics of Sharing”. What does sharing mean today, and under which conditions does it take place? Which value systems are necessary to preserve good living conditions on our planet? From which concepts of community can we learn?

The research and exhibition project “Politics of Sharing”, which has been developed in collaboration with Artspace New Zealand, presents various perspectives on practices of sharing. It brings together artistic and sociological positions from the Pacific region with European points of views. For example, examining knowledge and value systems of the Maori people in New Zealand leads us to new meanings of property, ownership and a culture of welcome.

The exhibition “Politics of Sharing / On Collective Wisdom” features new works by the renowned New Zealand artists Peter Robinson, Lonnie Hutchinson, and Nathalie Robertson. A new performance by the Tongan artist Kalisolaite ´Uhila examines differences and connections between Western and Polynesian concepts of time. Furthermore, the exhibition presents collective modes of work like the collaboration between Daniel Maier-Reimer and Syafiatudina. The installation by the Germany-based artist Gabriel Rossell-Santillán focuses on the transformation of cultural and collective knowledge.

The exhibition, which will be on display at the ifa Gallery Berlin from 1 June to 10 July 2016, was conceived by Elke aus dem Moore (Head of the Visual Arts Department at ifa) and Misal Adnan Yıldız (Director of Artspace New Zealand, Auckland). The exhibition was preceded by a four-week Open Space, a sharing of the institutional space of the ifa Gallery. The Indonesian artists collective KUNCI was invited for exchanges with local initiatives, which resulted in the online radio station radio.kunci.or.id.

Lonnie Hutchinson, born in Auckland, studied 3D Design at Unitec Institute of Technology, completed her diploma in Education. She worked as a teacher before following up with a Master of Design at Unitec, Auckland recently. Hutchinson has worked in a range of artistic media, and is particularly recognized for her sculptural paper cut outs. Intrinsic to her work are references to tribal and Maori practices and narratives as well as her Pacific Island heritage.

KUNCI Cultural Studies Centre acts as an independent, transdisciplinary collective at the interface of theory and practice. Since its foundation in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in 1999, KUNCI is dedicated to researching, producing, and sharing critical knowledge – by means of publications, cross-disciplinary encounters, research, artistic interventions, and educational practice.

Daniel Maier-Reimer / presented by Syafiatudina
Daniel Maier-Reimer´s art is the practice of travelling – usually by foot and alone. As he lays more emphasis on the time he spends at a certain place than on the artistic output, he often summarizes his journeys in a single photo shot, sometimes in a small series of shots. On some of his journeys Maier-Reimer doesn´t take a photo at all. Since 2013, the artist let´s other artists decide how his work presented. His latest journey took him from Auckland to Christchurch/ New Zealand in 2015. Syafiatudina, member of the transdisciplinary Indonesian collective KUNCI, whom he met in Christchurch, will conceive

Born in 1963 in Auckland, New Zealand, Natalie Robertson is a photographic and moving image artist, and co-founder of the artist and writer collective Local Time. She received a Master of Fine Arts (First Class Honors) from the University of Auckland and is a Senior Lecturer at Auckland University of Technology. She has exhibited in public institutions throughout New Zealand and also internationally, e.g. in China, USA, England, France, Germany, Brazil and Australia. In her works, Robertson explores Maori knowledge and cultural landscapes and engages with conflicting settler and indigenous relationships to land and place.

Peter Robinson studied Fine Arts at IIam School of Fine Arts and lives, works in New Zealand. Whereas his earlier works deal with questions of cultural identity and representation of the Maori, Robinson recently developed an abstract language that emphasizes the materiality of his installations-felt, polystyrene or steel- and creates an own syntax. A lot of his works are generated in co-operation with the audience, who is invited to intervene and change the installation. Robinson´s works are often exhibited both in New Zealand and internationally as well as on several Biennales.

Gabriel Rossell-Santillán was born in Mexico City in 1976 and has been living and working in Berlin for several years now. He studied Fine arts, Photography, Architecture and drawing in Mexico City, Madrid, Italy and Berlin. In his photography, videos, objects and installations, the artist deals with the transformation of cultural and collective knowledge. His work is based on specific research and ethnographic field work done locally in Stuttgart, in Mexico (Nayarit) in the Huichol community and at the Ethnologisches Museum in Berlin-Dahlem.

Kalisolaite Uhila achieved his Bachelor of Visual Arts in 2010 from Auckland University of Technology, where he is currently studying Performance & Media Arts. His performances and actions explore the links between Polynesian and western culture with an experiential approach. With Maumau taimi/ Wasting Time Kalisolaite Uhila explores traditional Tongan and Western temporal scheme.

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EVENTS

Wednesday, 1 June 2016, 19:00
The End of Contemporary Art (as we knew it)
Lecture by Marion von Osten, Berlin

Friday, 3 June 2016, 16:00
Curators and artists talk
with Daniel Maier-Reimer and Syafiatudina (KUNCI), Peter Robinson, Gabriel Rossell-Santillán and Kalisolaite ´Uhila and the curators of the exhibition, Elke aus dem Moore (ifa) and Misal Adnan Yıldız (Artspace NZ, Auckland)

Friday, 8 June 2016
Shared experiences of some micro-histories

Sharing: with and against and for
A film programme in the frame of the exhibition “Politics of Sharing / On Collective Wisdom”, compiled and commented by Madeleine Bernstorff

Speisekino Moabit, on the terrace of the ZK/U – Zentrum für Kunst und Urbanistik, Siemensstrasse 27, 10551 Berlin

Food from 19:30, film screening starts at nightfall (approx. 21:45)

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www.ifa.de