Exchange Value Intercultural,
2015-16
Participatory project that questions processes of cultural assimilation in the context of migratory movements in Europe and it bureaucracy systems.
Papers, Stamps, Desk, chair, folders, archive, photocopies and Cupboard cabinet
Installation at Palazzo Ducale. Genova IT 2015-16
Cooperation with INSITO_società e territorio
Photos Black/white: Claudio Pavone
The occidental definition of culture includes aspects such as the customs, habits, practices, daily rituals, clothing, society values and behaviour rules.
When people migrate to a country with a different cultural identity experiences a phase of cultural assimilation that is different in every case: some people don’t want to join in the culture of the new country, others assume the dominant aspects of society and conserve the own culture in private and some others forget their origins. Often, people in the destination countries try immigrants to adopt the values, norms and behaviour of the destination country.
This is a contemporary way of colonisation.
But nevertheless intercultural process is more about communication between groups of people with different cultural identities where hegemony is doesn't happen.
Exchange Value. Intercultural is about processes of cultural assimilation and culture hegemony in the context of the actual situation in concern to refugees and migratory movements in Europe and the role that the bureaucracy plays in this processes to propose an intercultural way of acting.
In this context the artist takes the role of a fictive State: she decides a protocol to follow, gives instructions for the paper form, she says how to organise the papers, how to archive them following a system and she validates the papers as an art work with a seal.
The Installation is the scenario of a migratory office in Germany, where a protocol to fill is given in order to “get a paper”. This protocol includes questions like: Write the text of a popular song from the place you come from, or describe how to behave by eating, etc. After doing this, people are welcome to change their own paper for another one inside the archive furniture, where there are plenty of papers written by migrant people living in different countries in Europe.
What would you do if you receive a hand written paper, validated as an art work, in a language that you cannot read or understand?
The Exchange Value of this projects are the urban relations as a consequence. People finding people from other countries or who speaks other languages to translate their piece of art-paper.
-179.jpg)
