SUBSTRAT

It is no coincidence that YES and NO appear at the beginning and end of her manifesto (from the Latin 'manifestus' = made clear). The manifesto, handwritten in Greek and English letters on two portable skirts that take their place in the exhibition space like two large discs and at the same time restrict movement in the room, is a tactile statement about the space of speech. When translating the manifesto, she realized that there is no gender-neutral narrative in Greek. Our speech is therefore inevitably shaped by the (linguistic) space in which we move; by structures that cannot be transferred across linguistic boundaries without losing meaning. And yet – the content of the manifesto forms a substrate that retains its relevance through linguistic shifts. A selection of photographs leaning casually against the wall provides insight into how linguistic and performative elements come together in Olivia Wiederkehr's work. Golden metal railings complement the installation as elements that both create and divide space. Plastic buckets filled with olive oil hang from them. Two jackets hang on the scaffolding, as if they could be reactivated at any moment. Temporarily set down or hung up, they bear traces of past and future actions or refer to current events in Greece.