Opening: Dis/b/orderly p2p

The construction of a Fortress Europe as a “European gated community” (Pichl 2024) is no longer just the goal of a pan-European New Right and self-appointed, neo-national socialist border guards, but has also found its way into European governments through the agendas of supposedly progressive and moderate parties. EU´s migration and asylum policies increasingly reflect the hatemongering imagery - that of the migrant or refugee as enemy - of authoritarian movements. Dis/b/orderly formulates a critique of territorial demarcations in the form of modern, naturalised borders that serve to establish imagined, separate communities. The exhibition exposes the intertwined processes within nationalist, capitalist, colonialist and racist relations of power and domination as the cause of border demarcations, questioning the hegemony of the cultural ‘inside’ and the constitutive ‘outside’ formulated through borders and softened by migration (Hall 2018). The works point to the absurdity of a homogeneous European identity and the intertwined responsibilities not only for the causes of flight and migration, but also for the deadly and brutal consequences within and beyond European borders.

Sudabe Yunesi (*1997 in Mashhad (IR)) educated in graphic design, fled from Iran in 2018 and currently studies bachelor of fine arts in the field of sculpture at the HfbK Hamburg in the class of Martin Boyce. By creating primarily angular geometric forms from metal, the artist has developed a visual language that emphasizes the coldness and rigidity of European refugee policies, exploring themes of exile and integration.

Robert Bostantzis Diamantopoulos (*1999, Athens (GR)) is currently studying painting at Hochschule für Bildende Kunst, Hamburg (DE), with Rajkamal Kahlon, after being formerly enrolled in the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp. Their creative practice deals with a vested interest in both political and social issues. Hereby, they focus on the way pop culture and humor can act as an educational device for these topics. Their practice mainly encompasses paintings that mimic the aesthetics of late 20th century film posters, though the films depicted are fictitious. Thereby, the posters provide a stage for historical events (predominantly of Greek origin) that never made a pop cultural debut. “Yossarian mk1” is their first installation dealing with deadly European border policies by collaborating with UNITED: List of Refugee Deaths.

Georg Juranek works as an artist and curator. His work has been featured among others at Galerie Kai Erdmann (Berlin, DE), Galerie Hinten Links (Hamburg, DE), and Golden Pudel Club (Hamburg, DE).

This exhibition is curated and organized by Sophie McCuen-Koytek as part of the Kunstraum.p2p format.

We thank ‘UNITED List of Refugee Deaths’ for letting us use their list. Donations are most welcome to make it possible to keep on working on the List: Fatal Policies of Fortress Europe | UNITED List of Refugee Deaths