Documentation

Ana Roldán ‘Take Positions: Bodies and Plants‘
30.1. - 7.3.2015
Installation view, annex14, 2015
Ana Roldán,‘False Flag‘, 2015
Permawash on dyed cotton
113 x 73 cm
Ana Roldán,‘Vanilla Overseas‘, 2015
Poster, Vanilla
Dimension variable
Ana Roldán,‘Indian File (1 - 28)‘, 2015
Photogram
60.5 x 50 cm each
Ana Roldán,‘I thought it was impossible I‘, 2015
Cotton, lycra, wood, foam
Dimension variable
Ana Roldán,‘I thought it was impossible III‘, 2015
cotton, lycra, wood, foam
Dimension variable
Ana Roldán,‘I thought it was impossible II‘, 2015
Cotton, lycra, wood, foam
Dimension variable
Ana Roldán Take Position: Bodies and Plants
30.1. - 7.3.2015
With the exhibition “Take Position: Bodies and Plants”, annex14 is showing four new
groups of works by Ana Roldán, who was born in Mexico in 1977. These works date
from 2014/2015 and in them the artist engages with the interactions between nature
and culture and with the question of the extent to which positions taken by mind and
body mutually affect each other.
The shadow of a flag flutters against a backdrop of grey asphalt. The video recording,
almost totally in different grey nuances, is accompanied by the beat of feet dancing
to the rhythm of a Mexican folksong. It is this that provides an indicator of where the
otherwise universally valid flag outline might be located.
The video was made in the member state of Guerrero in Mexico, i.e. the state where the abduction of 43 students from a teacher training college made headlines in
September 2014. The subsequent investigation clearly pointed to involvement of
organised crime, the police and politicians, and this subliminally present knowledge is
evoked by the video. Whereas a flag is seen necessarily as a symbol of a community
of some kind, the empty shadow of a flag makes a mockery of the concept of union
and forms a banner of its own for people’s feeling of being separated in a splintered
society.
Like the video medium, the wall poster is also a political medium: both are capable of
promoting the widespread dissemination of political ideas and both are omnipresent
in our cities. By placing the posters irregularly on the wall Roldán plays with the different meanings of “position”, fanning out the scope of the term, something that also
resounds in the exhibition title: Position can be a physical position in three-dimensional space, a body pose or an attitude or mind-set. Roldán playfully addresses a basic
problem of philosophy through her bands of words, namely, the question of how one
proceeds from a mental to a physical attitude, and what the relationship is between
them. In the context of her video work, therefore, the question also arises as to the
point at which an inner attitude becomes manifest in a constellation of bodies on the
street.
The three sculptures arranged in the room exhibit a strange presence. Covered in fabric they evoke the feeling of being confronted with something living, yet at the same
time they are only representations of a human presence. In the bends and curves of
the upholstered figures we may well recognise crossed legs or bodies
snuggling up to one another, but the supposed peace of the anthropomorphous positions can be destroyed by taking just a few steps: seen
from another angle, this humanity gets lost and what the eye sees is
simply a strict abstract sculpture. The sculptures thus hover between the
organic and the technical, while still preserving an aura of presence that
is difficult to fully grasp. This hybrid aspect is underscored by the use of
different textiles: while we recognise the fabrics on the one hand as evidently man-made, on the other, we always link them, as a second skin,
with a person – and the distinction between nature and culture becomes
blurred.
The thirty photograms also reflect Roldán’s interest in the opposition between forms that grow naturally and man-made forms. While man often
appropriates forms from nature, syntheticizing and abstracting them for
the purposes of design and art, Roldán enables the natural form to itself
become an image: she brings organic items like coconuts into the photo
laboratory where, as if by themselves, they become inscribed in the
photographic surface. She thus presents us with indexical impressions
of coconuts with which she then forms artificial and construed arrangements thereby putting them in the context of abstract painting. As a result
of his human activity, the border between organically grown and deliberate production becomes unclear and volatile. This interaction is further
underscored by the very medium of the photogram – the only one that
enables an object to depict itself.
In the works in “Take Position: Bodies and Plants” Ana Roldán thus
addresses themes with which she has been preoccupied for some time,
creating a multi-layered exhibition in which not only political events reverberate, but also the philosophical question of the duality of mind and
body.
Sarah Wiesendanger
Ana Roldán
Born 1977 in Mexco D.F., Mexico, lives and works in Zürich
1995
1997-2000
2000-2003
High School in Mexiko City, ME
Studies of History, Escuela Nacional de
Antropologia e Historia, Mexiko City, ME
Academy of Fine Arts , Bern, CH
Awards, Residences
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2003
Werkbeitrag Kanton Zürich
City of Zurich prize
Cahier d’Artiste, Pro Helvetia ZH, CH
Atelierstipendium der Stadt Zürich, CH in Kunming, China
Swiss Art Award
Swiss Art Award
Residency in Paris at Michael von Graffenried’s studio
Anerkennungspreis, Corti Aeschlimann Stipendium
Collections
Burger Collection, Berlin / Hongkong
Crédit Suisse, Zürich
La Colección Jumex, Mexico
Kunsthaus Zürich
Die Mobiliar, Bern
Sammlung Ricola, Laufen
Cisneros Collecion, New York
Sammlung Swiss Re, Zürich
Solo Shows
2015
Take Position: Bodies and Plants, annex14, Zürich
2014
RITUALE*2, Stadtbad Zürich, kuratiert von Stephan Meylan
2013
Drunk, High and Exhilaration, Florian Christopher a show room, Zurich
2012
Espejo Negro, Formato Cómodo, Madrid
„Different Orders“, annex14, Bern, CH
2011
Blank Back Mirror. (mit Alicja Kwade), Kunsthaus Langenthal (Cat.)
Forms of contemplation, ideal forms in compositions. Badischer Kunstverein, Karlsruhe, DE
2010
Cococompositions, Ellen de Bruijne Projects, NL
DYNAMO0, mit Falke Pisano, Kunsthaus Glarus, CH
Garash, Galería d’arte contemporánea, Mexico DC, MX
2009
As „the Myth of the hole“, annex14, Bern, CH
Words to be looked at, objects to be read, Kunsthalle Arbon
Picking holy words from the perfect ghost, homage an James Lee Byars Kunstmuseum Bern
(Performance)
2008
Wartsaal, Zürich, CH (mit Falke Pisano)
The Actor, The Art Place, Beijing, China
„Dance Steps“, Galerie Garash, Mexixo City, ME
Observations on Modernity and Form, Statements / „Kunst“, Zurich art fair
2007
„Kosmisch, Magisch, Musikalisch“, Black Box, Marks Blond Projekt, Bern, CH
2006
„Truth“, annex14, Bern, CH
„Seit es gut schmeckt bis es sich nicht mehr
bewegt“, ZWINGLISTRASSE 40, Zürich, CH
Gott ist rot, Amberg-Marti, Zürich, CH
„Fable“, Espace Libre, Biel, CH
2005
„Début“, Marks Blond Project, Bern, CH
“Kill the beast“, Yellow Submarine - Marks Blond
Projekt bei Mark Divo Häuser und wir, Zürich, CH
„Der Berg und der Boden“, Kunst in St. Peter und Paul, Bern, CH
2004
„Der Buchstabe «O»“, Galerie Kunstkeller, Bern, CH
„Es war einmal“, ENTER, Kunstmuseum, Thun, CH
2002
„Alles ist wie alles“, Stadtgalerie, Bern, CH
2001
„Silber Gelatine“, Galerie Kabinett, Bern, CH
Group Shows (Selection)
2014
Blackboard – White Page, Kantonschule Zurich Nord, curated by Ana Roldán and
Maud Châtelet
Les échos de la nature, annex14, Zürich
Tell me what I see when I look into your eyes, Bolte Lang, Zürich
2013
„Feu Sacré“, Kunstmuseum Bern (Cat.)
Last Exit to Ordalia, LJ Gallery, curated by Marco Costantini, Paris, France
Ask for something that doesn’t exist, duo show with Iza Tarasewicz, Labyrint, Lublin,
Poland
„Arróniz Arte Contemporáneo“, Christinger DeMayo, Zürich
LUPA, ArtRio, curated by Abaseh Mirvali, Rio, Brazil
2012
Primer Acto/ First Act, Museo Tamayo, Mexico City, MX
La jeunesse est un art. Jubiläum Manor Kunstpreis, Aargauer Kunsthaus, CH
La hora y los sitios, MACO (Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Oaxaca, MX
Galerie Sultana kuriert von La Central, Bogota, Paris; F
2011
Multitude, Örebro Art Center, S
MôtiersArtenPlainAir,Môtiers, CH
MerzWorld,CabaretVoltaire,Zurich, CH
Colours.Coleurs.Colori, Die Mobiliar, Bern, CH
2010
Distant Memory, Kunstmuseum Solothurn, CH (Cat.)
Des seins à Dessein, Espace Arlaud, Lausanne, CH
Formal reiterations and the end of the world, Garash, with Athene Galiciadis, Mexico
City, Mexico
2009
Made in China, Kunstmuseum Bern, CH (Cat.)
Inbetweenout, Arsenic, Lausanne, CH
Conspiracy, Kunsthalle Bern, CH
Hu-Nong in Beijing, China
Biennale Bejing, China
KIT, Kunst im Tunnel, Düsseldorf, DE
Swiss Art Award, Präsentation Cahier d’Artiste, CH
2008
Aurum, Gold in der zeitgenössischen Kunst, Centre PasquArt, Biel, CH
Stopover, SESC Pinheiros, Sao Paulo, Brasil.
Revolución Industrial, MUCA Roma, Mexiko City, ME
Blood, Swat and Speres, Grand Palais, Bern, CH, (group show)
2007
Intuition, Kunstverein Hildesheim, Hildesheim, DE (Cat.)
Kunsthalle Bern, Bern, CH
Stipendien der Stadt Zürich, Helmhaus, Zürich, CH
Môtiers Art en plain air, Môtiers, CH
Swiss Art Awards, Basel, CH
Corti-Aeschlimann Stipendium, Kunstmuseum Thun, CH
2006
I Soterranei dell’ Arte, Monte Carasso, Ticino, CH
Preisträgerausstellung, PROGR, Bern, CH
Swiss Art Awards, Basel, CH
Corti-Aeschlimann Stipendium, Kunsthaus Langenthal, CH
„Kill the bee-st“ 2/stopover Fri-Art, Fribourg, CH
2005
Weihnachtsausstellung, Kunstmuseum Thun, CH
„Keiner hilft keinen“ Kunsthalle Bern, Bern, CH
„Dr Aare naa“, Kunsthalle Palazzo, Liestal, CH (Cat.)
Swiss Art Awards, Basel, CH
„More things“, Galerie annex14, Bern, CH
Corti-Aeschlimann Stipendium, Kunstmuseum, Bern, CH
2004
Weihnachtsausstellung, Kunstmuseum, Bern, CH
„Identität“, Kunstraum, Baden, CH
„Der längste Tag“, Kunsthof, Zürich
Corti-Aeschlimann Stipendium, Centre Pasquart, Biel, CH
2003
7X3, Kunsthalle, Bern, CH
„Presence - Absence I“, Kaskadenkondensator, Basel, CH „Presence -AbsenceII“,Stadtgalerie,Ber
n, CH
„Archaische Gegenwarten“, Biennale Bern, Diplom Ausstellung Kunstklasse, Stadtgalerie, Bern,
CH
Corti-Aeschlimann Stipendum, Kunstmuseum Thun, CH
2002
„Wir sind in Berlin“, Gruppe n portal, Bern/Berlin/Bern
2001
„Turm“ Festival Science et Cité, Bern