Circling the Archive

Circling the Archive, conversation between Didem Pekun, susan pui san lok and Nick Aikens, on the eve of the exhibition at Netwerk Aalst, in the publication, Rewinding Internationalism (2023, pages 105-118).

Installation images of REWIND/REPLAY at Van Abbemuseum, in the publication, Rewinding Internationalism (2023, pages 68-74, 86-87, 96-99).

REWIND/REPLAY was commissioned for the evolving research exhibition, Rewinding Internationalism, first staged at Netwerk Aalst, Belgium (February to May 2022), with a new film by Didem Pekün, a commissioned multimedia installation by susan pui san lok, work by Wendelien van Oldenborgh, and an extended research presentation and the sounds of Belgian New Beat. This was followed by an expanded exhibition at Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven (November 2022 to April 2023), which featured a considerably expanded version of REWIND/REPLAY, in a new site-specific installation with magnetic tape, microphones, music stands, video projections, a 50-mins 5-channel audio loop and a lighting score, activated by occasional live performances. The work was subsequently reconfigured for the labyrinthine spaces of Villa Arson, Nice (June to August 2023), with the creation of a limited edition script/score.

'Rewinding Internationalism' draws from different social, political, and cultural sites in the 1990s, a moment when the construct of internationalism was in a state of deep flux. During the decade, the ascendancy of globalisation coincided with the revival of ethno-nationalisms within Europe and the waning of emancipatory, trans-national alliances. Within the art world a ‘New Internationalism’ was embraced, calling for an end to the centring of Western European and US positions. Here internationalism became a stand in for a rethinking of white, Western hegemony though it remained conceived form the very position it sought to counter. Rather than propose a history, or attempt a definition of ‘internationalism’ the exhibition is conceived as a score, moving between – rewinding – different sites and scenes. Central to this exploration is a confident disregard for the authority of the archive – images, sounds and references are used as evocations, rather than offering explanation.

The exhibition was conceived and developed during a global time of pandemic when the idea of internationalism is again unstable. The closure of national borders, prolonged isolation and screen time have had profound effects on people’s sense of place, and relating to one another. Works in the exhibition were produced or adapted within these conditions. Equally, the pandemic has induced in many a sense of being untethered and out of sequence. ‘Rewinding Internationalism’s’ fragmented rehearsals across space and time speak to the current sense of uncertainty, foreboding and repetition.

Curated by Nick Aikens.

Research projects: Revista de Critica Cultural, The Three Ecologies and Internationalist Feminism (1995 onwards) developed with Paulina Varas; Keepers of the Waters (Chengdu and Lhasa, China, 1995-1996) developed with Sebastian Cichocki; Contemporary Art of the Non-Aligned Countries (Jakarta, 1995) developed with Bojana Piškur and Grace Samboh; ADN (Association pour la Démocratie à Nice), Carnivals Independents and Les Diables Bleus (1991-2001) developed with Teresa Maffeis, Guy Ouillon and Sandra Ryvlin Rinaudo

An extended exhibition booklet with a conversation between Didem Pekün, susan pui san lok / susan lok pui san and Nick Aikens accompanied the exhibition at Netwerk Aalst. An expanded publication accompanied the exhibition at Van Abbemuseum.

• https://www.netwerkaalst.be/en/exhibitio...
• https://spsl-projects.net/rewind-replay/
• https://vanabbemuseum.nl/en/see-and-do/o...
• https://villa-arson.fr/programmation/exp...