22 WOMEN

10.10 / 2014 – 15.02 / 2015
SKMU Sørlandets Kunstmuseum, Kristiansand

Twenty-two minuscule portraits of women are illuminated by a multitude of light projectors. The women are all brave activists who, despite being active in the world today, remain generally unknown to the wider public. Who are they, and why does Alfredo Jaar, at the same time as spotlighting them, acknowledge their invisibility? The stories about these women are told in a separate booklet accompanying the exhibition.

Jaar’s works are always a response to events in real life. At a time when we have become desensitized by the enormous amount of information in our environment, Jaar explores art’s possibilities for conveying perceptions and interpretations of real historical events and situations. He demonstrates that art does not just concern aesthetics: it is also a powerful means for communication.

Jaar’s art can be described as uncompromising, innovative and captivating. He has gained a reputation for creating large installations that explore and discuss themes such as war, corruption, social injustice and imbalances in global power structures. Deploying a critical and humanistic worldview, his works comment on the world today. At the same time, we as viewers are challenged to examine our own role and responsibility as members of the world community.

Alfredo Jaar is an artist, architect and filmmaker. He was born in Santiago, Chile in 1956,and has lived in New York since 1982.