The Exhibition as Alibi

For years, Isabela Grosseová and Jesper Alvaer have explored the borders of artistic formats and the characters of artistic practice. In their exhibition project The Exhibition as Alibi, they consider the ontological foundations of artistic practice; the character of exhibitions and artistic sensibilities. Who is an artist, who considers imagination natural, and why is imagination ascribed to some and not to others? Who is an author and how are artistic sensitivity and imagination manifested? Who is an audience member and is the border between them and the artist thick or thin? What do we think we’ll see at an exhibition and what do we expect from it? The Exhibition as Alibi is a revision – it bends our visual and experiential ideas of what an exhibition is, what an author is, and what art is, re-programming and searching for new codes. It uses artistic imagination to create a new mental map, rearrange experiences and emotions, give our expectations a miss, and pay no respect to the expected positions. It questions the type of experience an exhibition can even mediate and what it is that it shows us. It is intended for all those for whom creativity is a source of joy and labour, but also to those who think they possess no artistic imagination whatsoever.

This project has been kindly supported by the Office for Contemporary Art Norway.