Documentation archive
Fermín Jiménez Landa (1979 Pamplona, Spain. Lives in Valencia, Spain) & Lee Welch (1975 Louisville, USA. Lives in Rotterdam, the Netherlands) did not know each other before the invitation to participate in Amikejo.
As if engaged in international diplomacy, the artists have had to get
to know each other personally and artistically before issuing what might
be regarded as a joint statement based on what they have agreed and negotiated, in the form of an exhibition. Jiménez Landa & Welch have chosen to establish their collaboration in relation to the notion of the micro nation and devices which delineate sovereignty – borders, stamps, anthems, flags, and so on.
Their project comprises a constellation of diverse performative, discursive and exhibited elements, some of which are directly apparent in the Laboratorio 987, having been developed in the space in the weeks leading up to the exhibition, while others have occurred at remote locations, or exist only in the imagination. A series of platforms constitute a space of assembly and discussion while a marching band from León has been recruited to compose and perform a national anthem for a new autonomous island state. Companioning this, another element comprises a series of letters sent by the artists using stamps from Moresnet, the republic which anteceded Amijeko. Jiménez Landa's & Welch's joint endeavour considers how art can produce new understanding, memories and communicative possibilities together with an audience.
Mousse Publishing will release the publication of the exhibition series In January 2012.
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With the support of the Mondriaan Foundation, Amsterdam.
MUSAC | Avenida de los Reyes Leoneses, 24 | 24008 León | ESPAÑA | MAP | Tue–Fri: 10–15 / 17–20h; Sat–Sun: 11–15/ 17–21h. Monday closed.
