Finnissage 29 October from 3 pm, Talk at 6 pm
As the current artist-in-residence at the Wrexham Road studio of the BMUKK (The Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, the Arts, and Culture) in London, this is Mladen Bizumic's first public display in the UK since his solo exhibition Kodak Employed 144,000 People. Instagram 13. (curated by Adam Carr) at MOSTYN, Wales in 2017.
When more than one object is inserted into the space, a relationship is created. Here, artist Kentaro Yamada invited his long-time friend and fellow artist Mladen Bizumic to exhibit works at the Neandertal space. Both artists are excited by the opportunities that this space allows, to create configurations of objects as well as gaps in between them, much like a number of conversations they had in the past. They place their practices in affective closeness to one another.
For Neandertal, Bizumic makes an installation that appears like a scene that awaits the event of its occurrence. He sets up displays of his collages that are ‘works’ plus their x value. The x value here stands for a number of contextual factors that constitute this presentation (location, existing interior, exhibition display boxes.) There is tension between the works and their display, the content, and the context. This is not about choosing one or the other but about the constant, precise, and playful change of attention values. This fills space with time, opens up potentialities, and creates different points of perception.
What is displayed ia a “multimedia” assortment at the Neandertal space. A set of collages displaying the ruins of imperialism and the light that shines “through” them. A hybrid of painting, scanning technologies, and lens fungus. Perfume production facilities. A computer animation based upon photographs taken by Bizumic on the Rakiura / Stewart Island in Aotearoa New Zealand. A didactic book vitrine. Less a presentation. More a present. Neandertal is a place of production where perfumes are but also a place of collaboration.
Mladen Bizumic is a Vienna-based multidisciplinary artist who has exhibited worldwide including the 9th Lyon Biennial, 10th Istanbul Biennial, Leopold Museum, Vienna and 1st Auckland Triennial. He received his BFA (Scholar) and MFA (1st Class Honours) from the University of Auckland’s Elam School of Fine Arts and his Ph.D. in cultural studies (with Distinction) from the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna. Bizumic’s artwork is held in permanent museum collections, including MUMOK – Museum of Modern Art, Vienna; Te Papa Tongarewa – Museum of New Zealand, Wellington; MAK Museum, Vienna; George Eastman Museum, Rochester, New York; the Federal Photography Collection – Museum der Moderne, Salzburg, among others. In 2022, his artwork has been displayed in Enjoy: the Collection in Change at MUMOK, Vienna and Metadata: Rethinking Photography in the 21st Century, the Ringling Museum, Sarasota, Florida. His writing has been published in the September issue of the TEXTE ZUR KUNST, Berlin.
Kentaro Yamada is a London-based artist with backgrounds in New Zealand and Japan. He is a founder of Neandertal. Yamada completed MFA at The School of Art Institute of Chicago and Goldsmiths (with Distinction.) He exhibits internationally and his recent exhibitions include: Everything Comes in Waves, Daiwa Anglo Foundation, London; He toku tū moana, Christchurch Art Gallery, New Zealand; Perfume Shop, The Ryder Projects, Common Third, Copperfield Gallery; Sound of Scent, Victoria & Albert Museum, London.
