Curator Statement

Uncontainable: Cumhuriyet Art Gallery, Taksim, Istanbul. The ISEA2011 Istanbul exhibition is titled UNCONTAINABLE. Its focus is on the development of contemporary arts at the intersection of art, science and technology, which by innovating and breaking boundaries are redefining not solely contemporary aesthetic but also our social and political environment. The ISEA2011 Istanbul exhibition is titled UNCONTAINABLE. Its focus is on the development of contemporary arts at the intersection of art, science and technology, which by innovating and breaking boundaries are redefining not solely contemporary aesthetic but also our social and political environment. The curatorial concept for UNCONTAINABLE explains the conceptual underpinning of the exhibition and its structure, which hosts multiple exhibitions strands and events. As Artistic Director for this exhibition – together with Özden Sahin, the Program Director – I wanted to showcase the complexity of contemporary social interactions and the role that technology is playing in redefining contemporary aesthetics. UNCONTAINABLE is part of the official Parallel Program of the Istanbul Biennial, which allows us to provide a diverse perspective on the contemporary developments within fine arts aesthetics.
The different strands of the exhibition are: UNCONTAINABLE: & Untitled (Senior Curator Lanfranco Aceti, Curator Özden Sahin); UNCONTAINABLE: Broken Stillness curated by Helen Sloan, UNCONTAINABLE: Hyperstrata, UNCONTAINABLE: Second Nature curated by Ian Clothier, UNCONTAINABLE: Signs of Life curated by Kathy Cleland, UNCONTAINABLE: Terra Virtualis curated by Christopher Dodds, UNCONTAINABLE: The World is Everything That is The Case curated by Sean Cubitt, Vince Dziekan & Paul Thomas
The artists in the UNCONTAINABLE exhibition are: Mark Amerika, JL Andruszkiewicz, Thomas Ankersmit, Warren Armstrong, Roy Ascott, Elif Ayiter, Bello Benischauer, David Bowen, Kirsty Boyle, Songul Boyraz, Priscilla Bracks, Paul Brown, Andrew Burrell, Karen Casey, Ayoka Chenzira, Susan Collins, Tom Corby, David Cotterrell, Chuck Csuri, Mark Cypher, Anita Fontaine, Darko Fritz, Mathias Fuchs, Tina Gonsalves, Jane Grant, Aroha Groves, Mark Guglielmetti, Ian Haig, Sigune Hamann, Peter Hardie, Tim Head, Nigel Helyer, Troy Innocent, Vicky Isley, Janis Jefferies, Sophie Jerram, Sonja van Kerkhoff, Karen Lancel, Grégory Lasserre, Barbara Layne, Geoffrey Lillemon, Joel Louie, Hermen Maat, Teoman Madra, Bryan Mather, John Matthias, Sen McGlinn, Anaïs met den Ancxt, Manfred Mohr, Vera Molnar, Sean Montgomery, Yota Morimoto, Paul Moss, Max Moswitzer, Phill Niblock, Kilian Ochs, Selavy Oh, Julian Oliver, Mike Paulin, James Pinker, Toroa Pohatu, Esther Polak, Julian Priest, Rachel Rakena, Kevin Raxworthy, Lisa Reihana, Danielle Roney, Daan Roosegaarde, Gavin Sade, Susan Sloan, Paul Smith, Julian Stadon, Tamiko Thiel, Jo Tito, John Tonkin, Patrick Tresset, Ivar Van Bekkum, Sander Veenhof, Mari Velonaki, Pieter Verhees, Roman Verostko, Nils Voelker, Te Huirangi Waikerepuru, Johannes Westendorp, Mitchell Whitelaw. In officially presenting this event I would like to stress the importance that it will play in re-defining the aesthetics of the interaction between art, science and technology beyond the divide artificially constructed of New Media vs. Old Media.

• Lanfranco Aceti (Italy) works as an academic, artist and curator. He is Visiting Professor at Goldsmiths College, department of Art and Computing, London; teaches Contemporary Art and Digital Culture at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Sabanci University, Istanbul; and is Editor in Chief of the Leonardo Electronic Almanac (The MIT Press, Leonardo journal and ISAST). He was the Artistic Director and Conference Chair for ISEA2011 Istanbul and works as gallery director at Kasa Gallery in Istanbul. He has a Ph.D. from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, University of the Arts London. His work has been published in Leonardo, Routledge and Art Inquiry and his interdisciplinary research focuses on the intersection between digital arts, visual culture and new media technologies. He is the founder and director of the LEA digital media platform and of the research center ORADST (Operational Research in Art, Design, Science and Technology).