Marc Oosting is interested in processes of appropriation, identity politics, the relationship between production and reproduction, and the idea of authenticity – notions that he connects to fundamental questions about the art object itself and the context in which the object is experienced. Having lived and worked alternately in Amsterdam and Seoul, regularly visiting China for exhibitions and projects as well, Oosting is aiming to account for the continuous shifts in contextualization within which his work is experienced and produced.
The Important Questions project (2016, ongoing) emerges from these interests, manifesting itself through paintings, carpets, and textile works that often display texts of a typically short, imperative and/or rhetorical nature. Transferred to the context of cultural institutions these texts touch upon the core of the mechanism of exhibiting, seeing, and being seen.
I don’t want to merely complete an economic transaction. It is more meaningful for me when South Korean craftsmen weave a straw mat on the border with North Korea, asking, “Can I help you with something?” than if I had anonymously ordered this carpet online. I rely on the open-mindedness of others and am limited in my communication due to not mastering the language. It takes time to build a working relationship where the other party feels space to get involved in the project. This, for me, constitutes added value. The identity of the involved creators, each with their own background, contributes to both deepening and broadening the narrative of the projects. The search for partners to collaborate with arises from the need to be grounded in a social structure. Through my work, I become part of an active and productive society: Important Questions involves multiple people, in the Netherlands, Korea, and China, who are involved on a voluntary basis in contributing to the growth and development of the project. Establishing projects that harbour a sense of community is a strategy for me to allow the unknown in and to look at my work freely as a spectator.
UP/////DATES are small presentations of new work by artists with whom P/////AKT has collaborated in the past. This edition also serves as a first announcement of the collaboration between P/////AKT and Oosting for the 15th Gwangju Biennale that will take place from September through December 2024. Important Questions – Belangrijke Vragen – 중요한 질문 is a group exhibition at the Eunam Museum of Art. With Paul Geelen, Jing He, Bodil Ouédraogo, Nayul Kim, Museum of…, Alban Karsten, and Marc Oosting
Image:
Important Questions (how can i help?) acryl on canvas on panel,
55,5 x 44,5 cm, 2024
