The List” – a public artwork that documents the names of 29,586 known refugees, asylum seekers and migrants who have died within, or on the borders of Europe since 1993 – was installed in West Hollywood this week (http://weho.org/residents/the-list). The piece is based on data compiled and updated yearly since 2006 by artist Banu Cennetoğlu in close collaboration with Nihan Somay and the Netherlands-based non-profit organization UNITED for Intercultural Action. Versions of “The List” have previously been displayed in Basel, Istanbul, and Amsterdam, among other cities. This is the very first time this work has been displayed in the United States.
Installed with the support of the City of West Hollywood through WeHo Arts, this iteration of “The List” was commissioned by Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT) in conjunction with the exhibition “It is obvious from the map,” on view in the gallery at REDCAT through June 4, 2017. The show, curated by Thomas Keenan and Sohrab Mohebbi, examines the role of maps and map-making in the movements of large numbers of people from the conflict zones of the Middle East and Africa toward Europe(https://www.redcat.org/current-exhibition). Additional support for “The List” and the corresponding exhibit is provided by Maggie Kayne, the REDCAT Circle, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and Pasadena Art Alliance.
Part of the City of West Hollywood’s Art on the Outside public art program, “The List” is divided into two sections. One is installed on a concrete wall near the West Hollywood Park Auditorium (647 N. San Vicente Blvd., 90069). While San Vicente Boulevard slopes – making the wall taller on its South end than its North end – the panels are aligned to be level to the horizon and uniform in size, causing a forced perspective in the way a viewer might perceive the size of the wall in relationship to the size of the panels, in part leading to a sense of disorientation. The other section is located on a busy stretch of Robertson Boulevard just south of The Abbey (692 N. Robertson), taking advantage of a temporary wooden construction fence in a high traffic pedestrian area.
About the lead artist: Banu Cennetoğlu (b. 1970, Ankara) studied in Istanbul, Paris, and New York before she was awarded a place at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam in 2002. Her work has been presented at the 10th Gwangju Biennale (2014), Manifesta 8 in Murcia (2010) and the 5th and 3rd Berlin Biennales (2008 and 2004). A major solo exhibition of her work was held at Kunsthalle Basel in 2011 and she was one of two artists who represented Turkey at the 53rd Venice Biennale (2009). She has been selected for the 2016 DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program. Cennetoğlu lives and works in Istanbul where, for the past nine years, she has also run BAS, a non-profit project space in the city center dedicated to collecting, archiving, exhibiting, and publishing limited edition artists’ books.
About UNITED for Intercultural Action (http://www.unitedagainstracism.org/about-united/): UNITED is the European network against nationalism, racism, fascism and in support of migrants, refugees and minorities. Together with more than 560 supporter organizations all around Europe, ranging from local grassroots associations to national and international NGOs, UNITED coordinates campaigns, organizes conferences, takes part in projects, produces publications and undertakes advocacy work to protest against discrimination and promote a shared vision for a diverse and inclusive society.
“The List” will be on view from April 2017 to early June 2017. For more information on this public art installation, please contact the project administrator Mike Che at mche@weho.org.
