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ternational Airport.
Kaarina Kaikkonen is known for her large instal-
lations made from men’s jackets, ladies’ shoes,
shirts and found objects exhibited in different spac-
es, both indoors and outdoors. She has participated
in numerous international exhibitions, most recent-
ly in the Cairo Biennale 2009, the Liverpool Bien-
nale 2010, the Vancouver Biennale 2010 and the
Venice Biennale Collateral Event, 2011.At the mo-
ment Kaarina is working on several projects, one in
Italy and one in Chile. She recently did an installa-
tion at Art Miami.
On Vacation (2004-2011)
Luchezar Boyadijev (born 1957, Bulgaria)
On-going cycle of 15 digital prints, each one 53 x
73 or 73 x 53 cm
On vacation
is a funny series, but at the same time
it undertakes in a serious way the problem of his-
tories of particular countries and the role these his-
tories play in the process of political and cultural
integrations of European countries and societies.
Boyadjiev began discussions of European iden-
tities in 1997 at the Documenta X, when he pro-
posed the concept of overlapping identities. Images
from
On vacation
represent equestrian monuments
from various European countries, with figures of
the leaders removed and sent “On Vacation”. This
is a symbolic unification by liberating the public
space from its past and opening it up for the future.
Luchezar’s work has been presented widely and
internationally, both in solo and group exhibi-
tions. Luchezar is also active as a curator, and
he has organised numerous lectures and pres-
entations. His work can be found at the CAMK
(Contemporary Art Museum of Kumamoto, Ja-
pan), the Fabric Workshop and Museum, Phila-
delphia, USA, the National Art Gallery, Tirana,
Albania and elsewhere.
ThoughtsAre Free (2011)
Gerda Lampalzer (born 1959, Austria)
Video projection, 3 minutes, loop
This single channel video installation examines
the relations between different European countries
with regard to languages. This examination looks
at problems other than language barriers, however
– Lampalzer’s work looks at how people from dif-
ferent European countries observe each other; what
sort of relations are created at the governmental
level; to what extent their relation to power shapes
the way people experience their belonging to any
community and how it affects the way they build
their collective identities.
The video addresses the lack of linguistic exchange
between Austria and its so-called “former eastern
European” neighbours. The borders have been
open for years, but even now hardly any Austri-
ans speak these languages. In the video the texts
of four people speaking Czech, Slovak, Hungar-
ian and Slovenian are cut apart and reconstructed
into the German phrase “Die Gedanken sind frei”
(Thoughts are free). This technical trick is an iron-
ic comment on the situation, especially because
“Thoughts Are Free” is often associated with lib-
eration movements, which are re-uniting Europe as
it should have been.
Gerda Lampalzer has worked since 1980 as the ex-
ecutive of the Medienwerkstatt Wien. Since 1987,
she has been teaching for Applied Arts in Wien.
She is active professionally as a media artist, lec-
turer and curator.
Lab Projections
Winter by Juha Niemi