Press release
Pomp, power and politics to go on display in major art exhibition
Published on 11 October 2019
A solo art exhibition by award-winning Slovenian artist Jasmina Cibic will open to the public next week at the University of Dundee’s Cooper Gallery
Film, photography, sculpture, textiles, archival footage and performances by the internationally-lauded artist will attempt to dissect the state of contemporary politics and international relations, when it goes on display on Friday 18th October.
An all-female operatic ensemble will sing excerpts of political speeches made during moments of social crisis whilst reclining on hammocks embroidered with political slogans to launch ‘The Pleasure of Expense’ during an eagerly-anticipated preview night on Thursday 17th October between 5.30-7.30pm
Sophia Hao, Cooper Gallery Principal Curator, said the new exhibition will leave audiences with plenty to consider.
She said, “Through a series of specially commissioned artworks for the Cooper Gallery space as well as her live performance, Jasmina underscores the gestures of modern statecraft and brings state power, modernist architecture and the disciplined body into a single spectacle.
“A visual touchstone of her exhibition is an immersive photographic mural of a fictitious politicised landscape. Her work draws a parallel between the construction of national culture and its value for political aims, encouraging the viewer to consider the timelessness of psychological and soft power mechanisms that authoritarian structures utilise in their own reinsertion and reinvention.”
‘The Pleasure of Expense’ will be open to the public on Mondays and Fridays between 10am-5pm and Saturdays between 11am- 5pm at the Cooper Gallery, 13 Perth Road, Dundee.
An Event Series of free workshops, reading groups and participatory theatre nights will expand the themes of the exhibition. All events are free and open to all.
The Cooper Gallery, while on two floors, is accessible via ramped access on the first floor and the second floor via a lift or stair climber. The gallery also contains a disabled toilet.
The Pleasure of Expense at Cooper Gallery, DJCAD is supported by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland.
Image credit: Jasmina Cibic, The Gift, Act II, 2019.
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