SIDIKA KORDES EXHIBITION
Sidika Kordes
Berlinki and the Blokowiska
The artist's exhibition is the result of artistic residences
whose theme became districts located outside the center of Opole. One of the
aims of the „OUTSIDE THE CENTER” project
is to provoke people to ask themselves - what the 'center' is. Where is
the 'center' of the city, country, continent; not only geographical but maybe
more – mental one. Where is my center?
Sidika Kordes explored the districts of Opole outside
Śródmieście (Centrum). She walked with a camera around Zaodrze and Osiedle
Armii Krajowej (ZWM), experiencing the landscape of Polish housing estates,
remembering the times of the PRL. With her photographic inspirations she
discovered that life in Germany and Poland has more in common as we usually
think. Artistic research lead her to the concept based on words and images. In
her artistic practice she works on
language, its structure and its meanings. Every day, she researches the meaning
of words in specific context. Sometimes she finds universal phrases for
diffrent cultures. So she did in Opole.
Sidika talked to people, read about the history of the
place, found in the visual chaos of advertisements and signs the most important
slogans for her. Out of this urban
material she is defining the spaces of
her Opole. The title of her exhibition "Berlinki and the Blokowiska"
turns out to be characteristic.
Berlinki - popular sausages - have become a link between Polish and German everyday life. Widely consumed, liked by children and adults have become a clear symbol of life beside the tourist center; ordinary, flowing with an eternal rhythm determined by places such as work-school-home. The second word in the title of the project – Blokowisko - Blocks of Flats - refers to typical urban construction - economical and popular for the second half of the 20th century in Poland, creating the everyday landscape of cities. The clash of these two words is funny on the one hand, and describing social processes and everyday life on the other.
Berlinki - popular sausages - have become a link between Polish and German everyday life. Widely consumed, liked by children and adults have become a clear symbol of life beside the tourist center; ordinary, flowing with an eternal rhythm determined by places such as work-school-home. The second word in the title of the project – Blokowisko - Blocks of Flats - refers to typical urban construction - economical and popular for the second half of the 20th century in Poland, creating the everyday landscape of cities. The clash of these two words is funny on the one hand, and describing social processes and everyday life on the other.
Exhibition at the Annex Gallery: 6.09 - 1.10.2019
Vernissage: 6.09 at 18.00
PHOTO BY SIDIKA KODRES
