Haig Aivazian, At every sunset, I think of you. Not because of some sense of beauty, but simply because I become acutely aware of how much time has passed since I last saw you, 2013. Charcoal and pastel on paper. 200 x 130 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Hamburg/Beirut
Haig Aivazian
Fugere
2 November 2013 – 5 January 2014
at Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Hamburg
Haig Aivazian (b.1980 Beirut) presents new sculptures, drawings and videos from his ongoing series Fugere, where the artist layers various histories of violence: from a highly televised rebuttal in response to racist insults on the pitch, to the occupation of inner-city neighbourhoods by police; and from the ascension onto an Olympic podium in the first post Soviet Games, to the weight of a dictator’s body as the trap door is released under his feet. History is not just entangled in sports, but also treated like a match, with freeze frames, replays and reverse angles. Here, the notion of time is malleable: the decades separating the release of two models of coveted basketball sneakers can be condensed into a frantic instant where two shoes are hurriedly thrown at an occupying president. These captured moments mark points of analysis that activate the spectator and hero alike, bringing the previously anonymous to the fore and making intimate the distant landscapes of spectacle often utilized in both the political and sports arenas. These arenas serve as a theater – a space where desires, violence, escapism, and the human condition are endlessly played out without the pretense of imaginary consequences. This landscape is where the works take their evocative form, revealing fleeting lapses in the standard perception of events and forming new investigative relationships. [read the full text here]
Sfeir-Semler Gallery
Admiralitätstrasse 71
D-20459 Hamburg
sfeir-semler.com
Opening hours
Tuesday – Friday: 11h00 – 18h00
Saturday: 12h00 – 15h00
Haig Aivazian, Fugere – Installation View at Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Hamburg, 2013. Courtesy of the artist and Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Hamburg/Beirut
Haig Aivazian, Fugere – Installation View at Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Hamburg, 2013. Courtesy of the artist and Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Hamburg/Beirut
Haig Aivazian, Parting Kisses (Muntadhar Al-Zaidi’s first then second shoe), 2013. Bronze, marble, and copper. 30 x 42 x 20 cm Courtesy of the artist and Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Hamburg/Beirut
Haig Aivazian, Detail from Parting Kisses (Muntadhar Al-Zaidi’s first then second shoe), 2013. Bronze, marble, and copper. 30 x 42 x 20 cm Courtesy of the artist and Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Hamburg/Beirut
Haig Aivazian, Fugere – Installation View at Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Hamburg, 2013. Courtesy of the artist and Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Hamburg/Beirut