Addam Yekutieli aka Know Hope Explores Borders, Patriotism and National Identity at Die Kunstagentin

Know Hope is the pseudonym of Addam Yekutieli, a visual artist based in Tel Aviv, whose work reflects on the political and the social context, documenting the bits and pieces, as well as concrete issues related to our individual and collective human struggle. His next exhibition will be a solo show, hosted by Die Kunstagentin gallery in Cologne, and it will showcase a new set of works inspired by the notion and the meaning of national identity. The title of the show -  The Truth, As Told In Our Mother Tongue, corresponds to these ideas in a lyrical manner.

Site-Specific Installation

Although the show will be based on the subjects which are already part of Know Hope's extensive research, it should be mentioned that the artist was moved and inspired by the events related to the current refugee crisis. This matter will be clearly addressed through a site-specific installation which is in an active dialogue with the exhibition space. The artist deploys his recognizable visual language to depict flocks of flying birds, which are commonly known to symbolize freedom, and in this case, they demonstrate the act of migrating. The installation also involves multiple layers of fences which are spread across the entire exhibition space, suggesting a sense of destination, resembling a nest.

Transparency

The installation is accompanied by a series of works that belong to the Transparency series, also made for this occasion exclusively. These works are painted on canvas and they consist of several layers, which makes them reminiscent of collages. The images represent patterns of wire fences combined with white paint, whereas the paint generates the shape of an iconographic figure that seems to be overlapped with the fence-pattern, so that the pattern symbolically fills the transparent gap with wires. Since the outline traces the form of a human silhouette, the images suggest a metaphorical narrative, concerned with the notion of borders, limitations and impossibilities, as opposed to the dreams of freedom, suggested by the opaque whiteness.

Know Hope's Exhibition at Die Kunstagentin

Both parts of The Truth, As Told In Our Mother Tongue aim to portray the difficult emotional state related to the complexity of displacement. They reflect on the ideas of a homeland, which can easily turn out to be deceiving and elusive, and ultimately they deal with the human capacity to adapt to new spaces and surroundings, just like birds do. Know Hope's exhibition will be on display from May 27th through July 16th, 2016, at Die Kunstagentin in Cologne. The opening reception is scheduled for May 26th, from 7 to 10 PM, and the artist will be in attendance.

Featured images: Know Hope - Untitled, Transparency Series, 111x82 cm, credits Aviram Hay; Know Hope - Homesick As an Ideology, 14.6 x 22 cm, credits by Addam Yekutieli; Addam Yekutieli aka Know Hope, portrait by Avi Wanono. All images courtesy of the artist and the gallery.