Date:        12 January - 31 January, 2013
Location:  Guest Projects, London, UK

Curated by Christine Takengny and Gaia Tedone

The exhibition Shifting Gazes brought together five international artists who explore the construction of stereotypes and exoticism within the visual imaginary of travel. Their diverse manifestations subvert the imagery of tourism projected by the mass media, unveiling instead those narratives that often remain hidden. The works in the exhibition reveal how the representation of a place is strongly informed by narratives of desire and imagination, deeply rooted in colonial and historical ideologies. Many of the artists in Shifting Gazes examine aspects of tourism such as the visit to monuments, the encounters with local people, and the documentation of rituals, to address preconceived definitions of ‘elsewhere’ and the complex relation with ‘the other’. The photographic and video works expose the artists’ controversial position as image-makers and look at the ambivalent relationship between the gaze and the camera. Juxtaposed with those artworks are projects that explore the invisible patterns underlying tourism, such as migration, war and the entanglement between exoticism and eroticism. The works in Shifting Gazes ranged from photography and video installations to prints and drawings. By traveling and documenting different social and geographical contexts, the artists point to the frictions and complexities of cultural encounters, shifting our gazes towards spaces of agency and criticality.

Participating artists: Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin, Camille Henrot, Maha Maamoun, Uriel Orlow , Maria D. Rapicavoli.

Click here to the exhibition website.