until Sunday May 30 2021

S.M.A.K.
T : +32 (0)9 240 76 01
Citadelpark
9000 Gent
Belgium

https://smak.be/en/exhibitions/why-are-you-angry

Why Are You Angry?

‘Why Are You Angry?’ brings together a selection of S.M.A.K.’s most recent acquisitions in the fields of video, photography and installation. The title takes the form of an open-ended question that visitors are encouraged to answer for themselves. It can also be read as an invitation to interrogate the current global social crisis from an emotional perspective. The act of questioning – whether this be the artists, the artworks, the museum or other visitors – is central to the exhibition. The artworks function as guides during the search for answers. It is hoped that the displays will act as a catalyst for a range of thoughts and feelings, from regret and dislike to enjoyment and wonder.

The exhibition includes works by Sine Van Menxel, Jacqueline Mesmaeker, Sofia Hultén, Rosalind Nashashibi and Lucy Skaer. The title is borrowed from a collaborative film of the same name by the British artistic duo Nashashibi/Skaer, which is shown at the end. Their work was inspired by the painting ‘No te aha oe riri’ by the French artist Paul Gauguin (1848–1903), the title of which translates as ‘Why Are You Angry?’ He created the work in Tahiti and the film revisits the painter’s historic voyage to the island. Nashashibi/Skaer’s view of modern Tahitian women questions our notions of exoticism, colonialism and everyday life, while the title of their film encourages viewers to pose their own questions as they search for a form of narrative.