WE ARE HERE (Aarhus) & WE ARE HERE (Gothenburg)
Summary
The photographic installation We are here (Aarhus) and We are here (Gothenburg) are based on traces from the Women’s March on Washington held in Washington, DC on January 21, 2017. This work reflects Coble’s meticulous, on foot, documentation of the fences surrounding the White House as marchers piled their protest signs around the parameter.
Supported by
Galleri Image, Aarhus ,DK
Danish Arts Foundation,DK
City of Aarhus, DK
BUPL Solidaritets- og Kulturfond, DK
Röda Sten Konsthall, Gothenburg, SE
Description of project
This series of over 256 photographs was taken during the Women’s March on Washington on Saturday Jan. 21, 2017 in Washington, DC and was exhibited for the first time on the one year anniversary of these massive worldwide demonstrations .
The Women’s March occurred one day after the inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States, and it brought hundreds of thousands of protestors to Washington, DC and millions in similar protests across the world. The mission of the marches was to “harness the political power of diverse women and their communities to create transformative social change”. Spurred by the general oppression of patriarchy and the specific misogyny of Trump, women and their allies gathered to march for reproductive rights, LGBTQIA rights, worker’s rights, civil rights, disability rights, immigrant rights, environmental rights etc.
We Are Here represents parts of the vast conglomerate of protest signs that people marched with and then left along the barriers surrounding the backyard of the White House. Coble began photographing a few signs that were propped up along the fence, and continued the documentation as more and more signs we left around the White House in solidarity and protest. What could have been a few snapshots turned into six hours of performative movement around the fences and a systematic, durational documentation of the signs, posters and people.
WE ARE HERE (Aarhus) at Galleri Image the viewers are invited to re-enact the movement along the fence surrounding White House and to explore the variety and creativity of the signs – ranging in tones of seriousness and humor, anger and parody, and referencing everything from historical oppression to popular culture and internet memes. The signs not only establish links to historical struggles but also to protest movements what would grow during 2017 and continues to this day such as the #metoo mobilization. For the exhibition the individual pieces of We ARE HERE can be moved around in the space, exchanged for a donation and potentially reactivated in another context. All donations (3500 DK) from We are here exhibed at Galleri Image (2018) were given to LGBT Asylum in Denmark
This work was commissioned for the exhitbion Acting in Numbers at Galleri Image, Aarhus, DK. Uniting photography and performance, the works in Coble’s solo exhibition focus on iconic symbols, bodily gestures, chants, and signals used in political protest and as forms of resistance. Photography and performance can offer distinct temporalities that are urgent for capturing, sharing and activating often ephemeral signs of defiance.
The works WE ARE HERE (Gothenburg) can be moved around in the Röda Sten Konsthall and can be exchanged for 200 SEK and potentially reactivated in another context. During the final week of the exhibition the photographs can be taken from the space and the money will be donated to No Human is Illegal/Ingen Människa är Illega (Gothenburg).
“The No One is Illegal Network (Ingen människa är illegal in Swedish) works to provide practical support to people who are forced to live undocumented after having had their applications for asylum refused. We demand permanent right of residence for all people who have arrived in Sweden and wish to remain. We believe in a world without borders, a world where no one is illegal.”
This work was commissioned for the exhitbion "Ingen rök utan eld. Shout Fire!" at the Röda Sten Konsthall with works also by fantastic artists Annika Lundgren, Felipe Mujica, Joar Nango and Carla Zaccagnini, curated by Mariangela Méndez Prencke. "Including commissioned projects in combination with already existing works, the exhibition brings forward current concerns on cultural autonomy, democracy, activism, and civil courage. Works that invoke the power of the word, that encourage conversations and exchange; actions that engage the body, the voice, techniques that gather collective knowledge, and questions that need to be asked anew.”
Type of work
WE ARE HERE (Aarhus) & WE ARE HERE (Gothenburg)
Published in
WE ARE HERE (Aarhus)- Galleri Image, Aarhus, DK WE ARE HERE (Gothenburg) - Röda Sten Konsthall, Gothenburg, SE
Link to web site
http://www.marycoble.com/photography/we-are-here-2017-18
http://www.galleriimage.dk/index.php/en/component/rseventspro/event/222
https://kunsten.nu/journal/queer-kunstners-call-to-arms/
https://finespind.dk/index.php/artikler-og-billedserier/815-queer-feminisme-og-social-retfaerdighed-kunstner-mary-coble-i-galleri-image-interview
http://www.rodastenkonsthall.se/rs_events/view/Ingen_rok_utan_eld/?lang=se
https://www.facebook.com/rodastenkonsthall/videos/2154286578158847/
https://issuu.com/rodastenkonsthall/docs/booklet_sidor_sv
View/ Open
Date
2018Creator
Coble, Mary
Keywords
Art and Activism
Artistic Research
Collaboration
Photography
Performance Art
Performativity
Play
Political
Protest
Activism
Washington
Womens March on Washington
#metoo
Publication type
artistic work
Language
eng