ONE OF THESE THINGS IS NOT LIKE THE OTHER THINGS

WEDNESDAY, JULY 2nd 2008, 7pm
1/9 unosunove arte contemporanea
is pleased to announce the exhibition:
ONE OF THESE THINGS IS NOT LIKE THE OTHER THINGS
curated by Raimundas Malasauskas

A group exhibition exclusively based on exclusion? Perhaps this is not the
sole aim of this show, which includes a number of carefully selected works
by 24 international artists that together pose one question: which one of
us is not one of “us”? Which work does not belong to the show? Which
one of these things is not like the other things? (It’s definitely more than
one question, but do we always mean one when we say one?).

Visitors are welcome to use gallery maps and single out an artwork they
find does not correspond with the rest of the show. No prize is gained
from this activity though. Neither a game, nor an IQ test,
O.O.T.T.I.N.L.T.O.T positions itself as a cognitive experiment in the format
of an exhibition. Situating itself within a discourse of democratic allinclusiveness,
which embraces everything from immigration policies to
writing on art, and which justifies the inclusion of work B by the simple
fact that A is already there, O.O.T.T.I.N.L.T.O.T inverts the main principle
of this ideology by asking to exclude rather than include.

Some of the participants in the exhibition rehearsals were able to quickly
and easily determine which works should be excluded. Others found it
difficult because all kinds of conceptual or formal links with other works
would materialize as soon as they identified an artwork of a different order.
“At least we had some fun,” these visitors concluded. For a third group,
the process of exclusion went so far as to remove all the works in the
show; supposedly none of the parts fit with the whole. Although this
group’s efforts were not devoid of fun either, their quest for exclusion
ended up attaining the show’s missing center.

According to Slavoj Zizek, the missing center may constitute the essence
of exhibition making, yet Zizek himself is deprived of his own essence in
spots of spittle he projected onto notes taken by Ana Prvacki during one
of his lectures. Benoît Maire left holes in the French Encyclopedia of
Philosophy from Husserl to Decartes—these contain categories and
concepts related to how we can experience reality without reading
philosophy. A wall drawing by Pierre Bismuth contains traces of Sofia
Loren right hand movement in the film “Too Bad She Is Bad.” Positive and
negative exchange roles in drawings by Gabriel Acevedo Velarde.
Juozas Laivys found a bird’s nest that dropped out a tree, but will it stick
to the show? One frame of a blank film stayed in Mario Garcia Torres’
pocket for a month, now it is projected on the wall for three. More than
two questions are being asked in two photos by Falke Pisano—if they
were less abstract there would be even more. Gintaras Didziapetris’
music only plays at night when no one sees his water-colors. Some works
contain color. Some are black and white. A few exceed spectrum. Donelle
Woolford is a spectral being herself, although her works stem from the
history of African-Americans. Portraits by Loris Greaud have disappeared
from the canvas. Did we see it happen? Who took hands off of your eyes
too soon? Can anyone confirm that nothing has changed in Aurelien
Froment’s film since last time we saw it? Who saw when Marco Raparelli
broke the hole in the wall, for example? Or when Gabriel Lester came up
with an idea for his strangest piece ever? Who here listens to BBC News
on Friday night? And who didn’t make it to the press release? Rosalind
Nashashibi sometimes portrays thought processes without an actual
portrait— they can help. A transparent sheet of paper that was falling off
the table is captured and laser-engraved in a glass ball.

Mariana Castillo Deball worked with a time machine in Serbia to produce
drawings that transcend timelessness. If it were not in an airport, Joao
Penalva would not have stepped on time’s shadow. Torreya Cummings
wore glasses with three lenses— they change perception and looks.
Shoes are not allowed in Darius Miksys’ drawing though. The unsettled
dust of Sci-Fi books defines the landscape of Julieta Aranda’s objects
and photos. Her crosswords are open for words to cross themselves. Not
only strange things happen. A fragment of a work of Luca Trevisani was
removed from his installation, cut off of its ties and entangled with lives of
other parts. Rorschach is not a test anymore—Jason Kalogiros runs two
sides against themselves. Michael Portnoy is still singing a cover version
of Cookie Monster’s song. The missing center of an egg by Raphael
Julliard finishes the sentence with the hole instead of the whole. Full stop
has never been fuller.

The show is curated by Raimundas Malasauskas
The exhibition will be on view until September 20th 2008.
Galleria 1/9 unosunove arte contemporanea summer opening hours :
Tuesday – Friday 11am-7pm, Saturday 3pm- 8pm (or by appointment)
For further information please contact the gallery:
Tel. +39 06 97613696
Fax +39 06 97613810
gallery@unosunove.com
www.unosunove.com