Urgent Conversations: Athens – Antwerp

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    The exhibitions Urgent Conversations: Athens–Antwerp and Urgent Conversations: Antwerp – Athens are a collaboration between EMST and M HKA, a theoretical and visual dialogue, based on works from the collections of both museums, which includes more than 70 works structured in 22 topics.   

    28.04.2017 - 07.01.2018        

    M HKA, Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen - Leuvenstraat 32, 2000 Antwerpen

    EMST, National Museum of Contemporary Art - Kallirrois Avenue & Amvr. Frantzi Str., Athens 11743

    Jimmie Durham

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    © M HKA
    Gilgamesh, 1993
    Jimmie Durham
    Sculpture , 355 x 63 cm, 300 x 140 cm
    wood, iron, PVC, axe, metal

    Jimmie Durham made *Gilgamesh* for Antwerp 93 – European Capital of Culture. On that occasion, several artists were asked to produce a work with 'the city' as subject. Durham's starting point was the ancient epic of Gilgamesh, the mighty king of the Sumerian city-state of Uruk. He retells a part of the story in the [text](http://ensembles.mhka.be/items/3158) which he wrote to present alongside the sculpture. 
For Durham, Gilgamesh is a symbol of city, culture and civilization - the sculpture summarizes various aspects of this story. The materials, wood and plastic, stand for nature and culture. The impressive door symbolizes the opening to the city, but both lock and door handle are on the wrong side. In his work, the artist shows an opening, a possibility for symbiosis between nature and culture, but also the vulnerable balance between the two.

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