The Kids Want Communism: Final Installment
Dates: 22.6.2017-11.11.2017
Artists: Toy Boy, Tal Gafny, Jonathan Gold, Mati Lahat, Hila Laviv and Dana Yoeli, Ohad Meromi, Tamar Nissim; “Notes on Division” (curated by iLiana Fokianaki): Konstantinos Kotsis, Yota Ioannidou, Antonis Pittas, Yorgos Sapountzis, and Vangelis Vlahos
Curator: Joshua Simon
About the Exhibition
The Kids Want Communism is a yearlong exhibition project at MoBY-Museums of Bat Yam that is held in conjunction with a number of different artists and institutions around the world, including exhibitions, lectures, exhibits, screenings, and publications throughout the years of 2016-2017. Partner institutions include the Tranzit Prague, VCRC Kyiv, Free / Slow University of Warsaw, State of Concept in Athens, Škuc Gallery in Ljubljana, Westspace in Melbourne, and MoBY.
As part of the third round of The Kids Want Communism, the entrance exhibits the paintings by the artist Toy Boy, who was born in Luanda and grew up as a street kid in Angola after the Cuban war against South Africa and the United States. The unique story of this unknown war, which led to the fall of Apartheid, is being told through the artist’s experiences.
Beside him, is the installation of Hila Laviv and Dana Yoeli, ‘In the Corner This Morning’, an installation poster inspired by the utopian rooms designed by the Soviet artist El Lissitzky (1890-1941). The visitors are invited to take with them a poster with a paper self-preparation model and are encouraged to touch, cut, fold, paint, and decorate in the handicrafts tradition of DIY (Do it Yourself). In this way, the painting becomes an object.
On the second floor, the large-scale installation of Max Epstein’s “Dacha”, which was created especially for the exhibition, restores not only the traditional Russian wooden summer house but also provides the uncanny features it involved. Tamar Nissim presents “I am Simha Sabari”, which tells the fascinating story of Sabari (1913-2004).
Mati Lahat exhibits “Titans”, an installation created especially for the exhibition and composed of original frescoes created by Shraga Weil and Shmuel Katz in the communal dining hall of Kibbutz Ein Hamefratz in 1954. Lahat rescued the frescoes before the dining hall wall was destroyed. At MoBY he presents them against graphite drawings of the Liquidators monument in the Ukraine. These volunteers sacrificed their lives to seal the nuclear reactor at Chornobyl with concrete in 1986 in order to prevent further leakage of radioactive radiation.
Tal Gafny’s installation “Atidim” was also created especially for the exhibition. In its center is the image of Alyssa Carson, an American girl who has been practicing for the last nine years in order to participate in the first manned expedition to Mars planned by NASA for 2033. The work represents a summary of the first chapter of the project which will accompany Alyssa on her departure to Mars in 17 years.
“Structure for Rest,” a formation of beds for daydreaming by Ohad Meromi, is moving in the second floor to construct new constellations between the exhibits. In addition, the mural by Jonathan Gold showing people standing in line has been completed during the year and is now presented in its final form.
The exhibition “Notes on Division,” curated by iLiana Fokianaki of State of Concept in Athens, one of the international partners of “The Kids Want Communism” activities, focuses on a return to the Greek civil war of 1946-1949 and the political discourse surrounding the current economic crisis in the country. The exhibition will host six major artists from the art scene in Athens, including Konstantinos Kotsis, Yota Ioannidou, Antonis Pittas, Yorgos Sapountzis, and Vangelis Vlahos.
“The Kids Want Communism” is an annual exhibition project at MoBY-Museums of Bat Yam, and is held in conjunction with a number of different artists and institutions around the world throughout 2016. The Kids Want Communism is organized by iLiana Fokianaki, Vladimir Vidmar, Oleksiy Radynski, Vit Havranek, Kuba Szreder, and Joshua Simon.
