Artists: David Mabb & Henrik Schrat
Text: Maja Ciric

Sharing a common topic might be one possible way of belonging to the global, but not globalized art world – the more universal it is, the more it can stimulate a dialog, that would enlarge any artistic horizon at stake. Having that in mind David Mabb and Henrik Schrat have responded to each other’s work by intertwining their respective interests in utopias and dystopias through the exhibition that is based on a collaborative atmosphere of exchange, manifested in the works that act as a totality, rather than a sum of its parts.

Although utopia might sound as a universal topic, one possible categorization of utopias distinguishes between the utopian imaginary, utopian avant-gardes, therapeutic utopias, critical utopias and utopia in relation to its (im)possibilities. (Utopias, Documents on Contemporary Art, Richarde Noble (ed.)
However, what’s more important than understanding these specifications are at least two universal principles that these different approaches to utopia share: 1. the dynamic principle manifested in the fact that utopia when dealt with and spoke about is a journey, rather than a destination; 2. the principle of ambivalence manifested in the fact that a utopian thinking is a telescope for the nearest nearness . (Ermst Bloch, The Principle of Hope, (1954-1959.)

The constellation of this exhibitions is a result of a process of filtration of formal historical manifestations of the utopian thinking. Based on the principles of dynamism and ambivalence, rather than constructing a new utopia, this exhibition acts as reference to historical utopias, with a particular emphasis to Communism of various origin (Utopian Communism, Avant-garde Communism, "Communism" from 45-89 in Eastern Europe) and its utopian imaginary. This historical references are used in order to critically and indirectly examine the nearest nearness through the means of visual arts. Specifically, the formal reference to the contemporary (social) purpose of Communism is reexamined, in a way that it resonates in the specific context of Wedding as in the working class neighborhood. Practically, in Mabb’s video A Closer Look at the Life and Work of William Morris with the music by the Der Rote Wedding sound track by the Commandantes, as well as in the Schrat’s Strugatzki Memorial, the deconstruction happens from both the relation between different utopian imaginary and their relation to the local context. The art works are triggers for the trajectory of utopian thinking by exposing and redefining utopian references in a new environment.

So, what does this particular exhibition resonate with, briefly? On one hand it resonates with artistic references to the historical utopian discourses, but it does so in a context responsive manner - it resonates distantly with the failed modernism of Wedding and its contemporary manifestations. By doing so, Mabb and Schrat are not only refreshing the utopian legacy, but also pushing its trajectory onwards.