News — Studio Orta

Studio Orta - Cape Farewell Expedition

Cape Farewell Expedition

Lucy + Jorge Orta have been invited by Cape Farewell to participate in the first expedition to the Peruvian Andes from 23 June to 10 July 2009 with a group of international artists and scientists. The research conducted by Lucy + Jorge will be central to their solo exhibition Amazonia at the Natural History Museum London in autumn 2010.Artists Adriane Colburn, Daro Montag, Lucy and Jorge Orta, Novelist Yann Martel, Photographer Ana Ceclia Gonzales Vigil, Designer Marije De Haas, Sound Artist Brenndan McGuire, Animator Anthony Santoro, Camera man Matt Wainwright and climate science communicator Rhian Salmon will explore the impacts of climate change in the Andean Mountains with Scientists Prof Yadvinder Malhi, Dr Joshua Fisher, and Kathryn Clark from Oxford University, to respond to and inspire a sustainable cultural vision to the potentially devastating climate reality .Since 2003, Cape Farewell has led seven expeditions to the High Arctic, the ambition of their first expedition to the Andes is to invite artists to witness the impact of climate change in another major climate tipping point; rainforests. The team will visit multiple science stations and partake in varied climate research to gain a full understanding of the breadth of research being undertaken in the Andes and the implications of human activity on this fragile environment.

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Studio Orta - Off the Beaten Path

Off the Beaten Path

In “Off the Beaten Path: Violence, Women, and Art,” 17 well-respected artists from 14 countries create new stories through their artwork addressing gender-based violence from a global perspective.“Throughout the world, women and girls are victims of countless and senseless acts of violence. The range of gender-based violence is devastating, occurring, quite literally, from womb to tomb,” explains Randy Jayne Rosenberg, executive director of the non-profit group Art Works for Change (AWFC) and the show’s curator. “The stories that underlie these artworks return us imaginatively to the event of violation and allow it to affect us.”“Off the Beaten Path” utilizes artworks to promote awareness and behavioural choices; inspire the belief that communities can change a culture of violence; empower girls and women with respect to domestic violence, exploitation and discrimination; and address systems for social change. The project combines art with storytelling.

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Studio Orta - HEAVEN 2nd Athens Biennale 2009

HEAVEN 2nd Athens Biennale 2009

“Live” curated by Dimitris Papaioannou & Ζafos Xagoraris. Temporary installations form successive theatrical scenes, screens and floating stages, while the spectators and the spectacle interchange, as residents and users of the aquatic limit are invited to attend actively in the configuration of communal spaces. New uses of the spaces are triggered, under the surface of the sea, in the street or in the roofs of neighboring buildings, without impeding the ones already existing.

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Studio Orta - Pot Luck: Food and Art

Pot Luck: Food and Art

The New Art Gallery Walsall is proud to be the launch venue for a major new touring exhibition 'Pot Luck: Food and Art', produced by Art Circuit'Pot Luck' brings together works by 17 acclaimed international contemporary artists including Damien Hirst, Mona Hatoum, Antony Gormley, Lucy + Jorge Orta and Subodh Gupta, who demonstrate how the use of food in art continues to be re-discovered. With each artist bringing a ‘dish’ to the table, the exhibition will combine personal tastes with the current flavour of our social and political climate. From antiquity to today, food has been a recurring subject matter in the history of art; from early depictions in mythological scenes to those found in religious art of all cultures. Food represents ideas of desire, pleasure, greed, excess, life and death; it is the very substance that sustains life and also takes it away.

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Studio Orta - Dress Code

Dress Code

Clothing, the second skin which personifies the person wearing it, becomes, in certain contexts, the symbol of a socio-cultural identity. In the history of clothing, it has appeared from the beginning as a set of garments that covered the human body to protect it and adorn it. Throughout the history of art, artists have represented clothes essentially in a flat way in various pictorial or ornamental forms. Today, however, clothing has emerged from this two-dimensional representation to establish itself on the artistic stage in its own right. Contemporary artists use clothing as a material, a medium, a symbol and above all as a substitute for the “body” subject. In this way, they invite us to reconsider the so-called established material facts, our way of appearing in order to be. Through this exhibition, we are interested in the codes implied by these pieces of sculptured fabric and the way in which contemporary artists re-use clothes to express a social criticism. Far removed from the world of haute couture, clothes demonstrate here the extent to which the class divide relies on the dress code.

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Studio Orta - OrtaWater

OrtaWater

Originally co-commissioned and exhibited by Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa for the 2005 Venice Biennale, and Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen Rotterdam 2006 the body of work 'Orta Water' focuses on the general scarcity of water and issues surrounding the privatization and corporate control effecting access to clean water. Starting from a rigorous analysis of this crucial resource through visual and text research, Lucy + Jorge Orta develop poetic artefacts, sculptures, large-scale installations and public artworks that evoke the water cycle. Of particular significance is research undertaken into low-cost water purification devices enabling filthy water to be pumped and filtered directly from natural water sources such as the Canal Grande Venice and Emmersingel Rotterdam, and made drinkable and available for the public to taste. Fully functioning filtration systems are incorporated into the 'Pumpstation Unit' and the entire installation has been linked by a continues system of pipes, for vistors to drink at the numerous taped artworks along their journey.

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Studio Orta - Return to Function

Return to Function

Return to Function' brings together contemporary artists who make functional objects based on theoretical principles. Featuring a dune buggy, a camper, a soccer ball with right angles, a cellular telephone that doubles as an exercise device, and a mobile studio—as well as garments and a do-it-yourself coffin, among other works—'Return to Function' examines the role of objects in our lives as perceived by 20 contemporary artists who employ the expansive nature of art to illuminate unexplored aspects of the familiar.Conceived for a post-industrial world, the objects included in 'Return to Function' look like items we buy and use on a daily basis. However, their usefulness within the art context exposes a complicated dynamic between individuals and commodities. These works of art address our desire for objects, while also exposing pervasive advertising manipulations. At the same time, each work imagines new and innovative ways of approaching old tasks. In doing so, the works suggest that objects can play a central role in improving our lives.

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Studio Orta - Green Platform

Green Platform

Curated by Valentina Gensini and Lorenzo Giusti, the exhibition will be adopting a complex critical view based on an interdisciplinary approach to the issue of the environment, in the dual sense of a crisis in our thermo-industrial society based on non-renewable sources of energy and of an ecological crisis caused by pollution and by the worrying overheating of our planet. Thus the problem of ecology will not be explored merely in terms of an environmental approach. It will be analysed in its myriad philosophical, psychological, environmental, economic and social implications. That way ecology can become not only the science of nature but an inter-relational science, a border and cross-border science, the link between nature and culture.

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Studio Orta - OrtaWater

OrtaWater

The Paris-based artist couple Lucy + Jorge Orta will create a unique art project for DSM based on the DSM Triple P Report 2009, DSM’s sustainability report. The project will be ready in March 2010, and will be presented during the launch of DSM’s 2009 sustainability report. DSM announced this during the launch of Triple P Report 2008. The launch was combined with the opening of an exhibition by Lucy + Jorge Orta in DSM’s offices in Heerlen and Sittard (the Netherlands). In the head office in Heerlen the artists present their project ‘ OrtaWater’ which focuses on the worldwide shortage of water. In the Sittard office their ‘Antarctica Village – No Borders’ project is exhibited which draws attention to the current climate of migration and the refugee status in which many people throughout the world find themselves. The exhibits are open until 2 June during office hours. It is the first time that the artist couple Orta will create an art project based on the sustainability drive and achievements of a company. DSM and Lucy and Jorge Orta share the same focus on the real issues confronting our world, which involve securing sustainable energy supplies, combating climate change and providing balanced food supplies and health for the global population. The Orta’s will base their project on the four global trends upon which DSM has based its business and sustainability strategy: Climate and Energy, Health and Wellness, Functionality and Performance and Emerging Economies.

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Studio Orta - Peace Summit Award 2008

Peace Summit Award 2008

9th WORLD SUMMIT OF NOBEL PEACE LAUREATES, Paris 11-13 December 2008"Human rights and a World without violence". Each year the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates honour with the Peace Summit Award personalities selected within the culture and entertainment business who stand out in the defence of human rights and in the diffusion of the principles of Peace and solidarity in the world. During the ceremony at the Hotel de Ville in Paris, Bono was awarded Window on the World Antarctica by artists Lucy + Jorge Orta, depicting an image of the Antarctic continent from their series Antarctic Village No Borders symbolising a world free from violence. Courtesy of Galleria Continua.The Nobel Peace Laureates draw public attention to the young generation and nonviolence it is of utmost importance to turn our eyes to the problems of Human Rights. Without such rights violence, poverty, lack of resources will thrive and will impede us to ensure a future of a long-lasting peace throughout the planet Earth.The 9th Summit proposes to touch upon the following questions: how can we build peace through the safeguard of human rights, what are the strategies to affirm the universalism of the fundamental rights, how to ensure the defence of individual rights in today’s world, how to foster the establishment of the democratic values worldwide and finally, how to make rights concrete by eliminating social and financial inequalities among people in our societies. The Summit will represent an opportunity for the Nobel Peace Laureates to elaborate strategies of international policies, which shall be implemented to ensure a real observance of the principles, reflected in the Declaration. http://www.nobelforpeace-summits.org/

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Studio Orta - 70 x 7 The Meal act XXIX

70 x 7 The Meal act XXIX

70 x 7 The Meal act XXIX at the historical Savoy palace, Venaria Reale is the first collaboration with Fondazione Slow Food per la Biodiversità Onlus. The theme chosen by the artists for the 29th setting is food biodiversity with the aim to support the project Cooperativa Cauqueva (Cooperativa Agropecuaria y Artesanal Union Quebrada y Valles) and to protect the production of the precious Andean potato, the fundamental food and financial resource for the Argentine population. 150 guests participated in the Orta performance based on the preparation of the most basic of dishes, the Soup. “The soup is universal, across all socio-economic groups with different staple origins and wonderful colours: green vegetable, black bean, red tomato, orange pumpkin, white garlic and onion, …”. Each guest was given a calico bag filled with vegetables that had been prepared live, to take home and prepare a soup. The Limoges porcelain plate edition designed especially for the occasion celebrated the theme by depicting delicately drawn vegetables and a recipe for the potato soup. The menu was created by Turin’s most promising chef Alfredo Russo, from Dolce Stil Novo restaurant at the Venaria Reale, taking his inspiration from the plate: “The soup is the common denominator, a sustainable dish which brings together populations and cultures of every continents. From the main course to the dessert I will utilise ingredients so called ‘poor’ – although I prefer to call them ‘democratic’ – like the potato and vegetable in order to give a contribution, in terms of cooking, to the theme of the event”. Curated by Maria Perosino and Bartolomeo Pietromarchi

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Studio Orta - Survival

Survival

The Fashion Space Gallery at London College of Fashion, the UK’s leading provider of fashion education, will this autumn present Survival, by international artist Lucy Orta. This exhibition which will showcase work never displayed in the UK, on the theme of survival, including Urban Life Guard and Survival Kits from the Antarctica project, which was originally presented in the transient landscape of the Antarctic ice-caps as part of the inaugural End of the World Biennale, 2007.During the course of her research as Professor of Art, Fashion and the Environment at London College of Fashion, Lucy has created thought provoking objects that take on the form of life jackets, parachutes and metaphoric garments using the surface of the fabrics for textual communication, with slogans and graphics related to her themes of research.The core of Lucy Orta’s working practice focuses on the human condition in an era of global crisis through themes of shelter, war, water shortage, migration, economic and environmental disasters. She responds to contexts in which social structures are not capable of protecting individuals, and has advanced proposals that can offer self-sufficiency and protection for the human body.

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Studio Orta - Body Architecture

Body Architecture

The Swedish Museum of Architecture and Svensk Form (the Swedish Societyof Crafts and Design) jointly present a selection of works by the artisticpartnership of Lucy + Jorge Orta at the Swedish Museum of Architecture.The artistic duo has a strong social commitment, which is reflected in theirprojects. A number of their works focus on the connection between mankindand the survival of our planet, depicted through textile and architectonicsolutions. Among other things, they created ”Dome Architectures” in theform of a temporary settlement for Antarctica.The duo develop their artworks by posing various questions:How can art pave a new critical role faced with the growing problems in this world?What can architects and artists contribute towards the development ofmore humane, environmentally suitable and ecological forms of architecture?How can art projects contribute to and participate in a constructive dialogueand improve conditions for the less privileged members of our society?

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Studio Orta - 1% Water and our future

1% Water and our future

1% WATER aims to be a catalyst for change, reconnecting us physically and psychologically to water and helping us to shape a sustainable future. The exhibition explores themes such as AbUse, Sacred Waters and Reconnect through works by artists such as Atelier van Lieshout, Brandon Ballengée, Elina Brotherus, Edward Burtynsky, Amy Jenkins, Michaela Nettell and Studio Orta, designers such as &Made, Doshi Levien and Fulguro & TJAW and graphic designers Karlssonwilker, as well as key historic pieces.

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Studio Orta - Antarctica

Antarctica

Antarctica is an itinerant exhibition curated by Bartolomeo Pietromarchi, which opened at the Hangar Bicocca Milan in April. It arose from an expedition made by the artists to Antarctica in 2007 following a commission from The End of the World Biennale. This journey, both real and symbolic, to the furthermost reaches of the world and to a protected ecosystem free from any military activity, enabled the artists to tackle issues regarding climate change and human survival in the severest of conditions.

The Antarctic Village is an embodiment of a symbolic community open to all human beings, a ‘nation of humanity’ and a peaceful land for those who have been forced to leave their home country as a result of economic or natural disasters, war or political intimidation. With Antarctic Village – No Borders, the artists propose a new clause Article 13.3, to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) that would guarantee the right of freedom of movement and circulation.

The exhibition at Galleria Continua / La Moulin is an occasion to reflect on alternative solutions for a fairer form of globalization, where resources, freedom of movement and human rights could be guaranteed for everyone. Also on show are previous works by the artists dealing with themes relating to the environment, global warming, society, human rights, humanitarian intervention and the mobility and migration of peoples.

Le Moulin private view followed by DJ party opens on Saturday 28 June from 6pm until midnight.Navettes leave Paris at 5pm from Jardin des Plantes and return at 1am. For advanced bookings please contact: lemoulin@galleriacontinua.com. Galleria Continua / Le Moulin, 46 rue de la Ferté Gaucher, 77169 Boissy-le-Châtel

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Studio Orta - OrtaWater

OrtaWater

OrtaWater focuses on the general scarcity of water and issues surrounding the privatization and corporate control effecting access to clean water. Reflecting on ‘Operational Aesthetics’, the overarching aim of their artistic process is to contribute proactively to the broadening of our understanding and development of sustainable solutions for the water dilemmas ahead in playful and accessible manners. The artists create sculptures combining functional source-based objects, photography, steel welding, sound and objects related to the water problematic. The work commissioned by the Austrian Pavilion of the International Expo 2008 Zaragoza is entitled ‘OrtaWater Zillie Fluvial Unit’. It incorporates the traditional Zillie canoe form the mountain regions of Austria, with an organic steel structure which forms a ‘bottle rack for hundreds of bottles of water collected from destinations around the world.OrtaWater was the focus of major survey exhibitions at the Hangar Biccoca contemporary art centre in Milan (2008); the Venice Biennale and Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen Rotterdam (2005) and the Galleria Continua Beijing (2006).‘OrtaWater’ received an ‘Award for Sculpture’ that combines artistic excellence with an environmental message, presented by the United Nations Environment Programme at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo 2007.

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Studio Orta - Carried Away Procession in Art

Carried Away Procession in Art

The Arnhem Museum of Modern Art will be participating in the annual procession Sonsbeek where citizens carry thirty artworks through the streets and it is an occasion for the MMKA to study the phenomenon of civic rituals. How have 20th- and 21st-century artists adopted and used procession in their work and why have they chosen this form? If one examines art history, one will find an explosion of processions in the 1910-20s, ’60-70s, and ‘90s. The exhibition explores a number of related developments through a sociological approach such as an increasing feeling of emptiness and disorientation due to secularization, individualism and a lack of symbols and rituals. Particular attention is paid to the problems of the supposed neutrality of the street, to interactivity and shared authorship, and to the possibility of conveying the experience of the procession through documentation.but also in society.Artists participating include: Francis Alÿs, Gijs Assmann, Joseph Beuys, Günter Brus, Daniel Buren, James Lee Byars, James Ensor, Yvonne Dröge Wendel, Meschac Gaba, George Grosz, Thomas Hirschhorn, Allan Kaprow, William Kentridge, Fransje Killaars, Daniel Martinez, Begoña Munoz, Lucy Orta, Francis Picabia, Roger Raveel, Vladimir Tatlin, Jean Tinguely, Endre Tót, Stephen Wilks

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Studio Orta - Antarctica

Antarctica

In the spring of 2007, Lucy + Jorge Orta went on an expedition to Antarctica as part of an artistic project on this frozen continent. It was both a real and a symbolic journey to the edge of the world, living in an extreme environment under the severest survival conditions. The Antarctica exhibition in the Hangar Bicocca, curated by Bartolomeo Pietromarchi, represents the first complete and organic public showing of the artworks created by the artists as a result of their unique experience in Antarctica. The exhibition is also an occasion for presenting other major works created by Lucy + Jorge Orta over the last five years, addressing social, environmental and humanitarian issues: mobility, population migration, climate and environmental crises, and human rights. On exhibition are the emblematic dome architectures that composed the Antarctic Village actually installed in Antarctica as well as 'Drop Parachutes', 'Survival Kits' and the video projection of their expedition. Antarctic Village – No Borders is a symbol for those who will do anything cross borders in their search for refuge from the social and political conflicts in their home country. Off limits to military activity and protected as an ecosystem, the Antarctic contains 70% of the planet’s fresh water reserves. Antarctic Village thus becomes the emblem of a future in which true globalisation will mean a more equitable redistribution of resources and the right to exist for the people of the world.

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Studio Orta - Antarctic Village - 13:3

Antarctic Village - 13:3

Antarctic Village – No Borders was first developed in the early 1990’s by Lucy + Jorge Orta as a Utopian endeavour through which the artists could consider the current climate of migration and the refugee status in which many people throughout the world find themselves. The Antarctic continent is a neutral territory free of conflict as decreed by the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, a place where women and men, displaced from their native homelands for economical, social or political reasons, can find peaceful refuge. Drawn upon their research, Lucy + Jorge Orta are developing a symbolic ‘Antarctic Passport’ to create a discussion platform for human rights, and for world citizens to move freely across territories and borders. The bearer of the Antarctic nationality could see their human rights recognized and respected as the passport includes a modification of Article 13 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Article 13:3 Every human being has the right to move freely and cross frontiers to their chosen territory. Individuals should not be deemed of an inferior status to that of capital, trade, telecommunication and pollution, all of which have no boundaries.

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Studio Orta - 70 x 7 The Meal act XXVIII

70 x 7 The Meal act XXVIII

The Natural World Museum and the United Nations Environment Programme joined forces to make an innovative contribution to the world through the 'Art for the Environment' initiative. This ongoing initiative is designed to utilize the universal language of art as a catalyst to unite people in action and thought, and to empower individuals, communities, and leaders to focus on environmental values across social, economic, and political realms. The Orta's '70 x 7 The Meal act XXVIII' will take place in the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild during a special dinner bringing together people from around the globe who are avid supporters of the arts, environment, and education, with a specific interest in Climate Change.

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