Fed Up Futures
Miao Fangping and Jelisaveta Rapaić
Duo exhibition of the QMA Artist Collective in collaboration with DAS WEISSE HAUS
Curatorial Advisor: Eva Kovač (BLOCKFREI Collective, DAS WEISSE HAUS)
Opening: Friday, December 13, 2024, 6 pm
Duration: December 14, 2024 – January 25, 2025
Location: DAS WEISSE HAUS, upstairs space
Address: Hegelgasse 14, 1010 Vienna, Austria
Description:
As part of QMA Artist Collective, an interdisciplinary artistic collaboration project by the Vienna-based initiative QUESTION ME & ANSWER, the artists Miao Fangping and Jelisaveta Rapaić have been brought together to exchange and create a dual presentation at DAS WEISSE HAUS. The already conceived, existing pieces are combined with newly made artworks and presented in the round room and vestibule on the first floor, with a subtle introduction in the staircase leading to it.
Politically, culturally, and existentially, we find ourselves (and each other) on rather hopeless ground, haunted by looming economic turmoil and environmental collapse. Amidst eroding systems and the persistent myths of linear progress, complacency and conformity act as shields and shelters against the mounting dread of societal decay. Yet, this façade only deepens our vulnerability to the profound threats that demand swift transformative action. Fed Up Futures suggests a sense of frustration or dissatisfaction with what the future holds and how it is being shaped. As we are immersed in disillusionment with ongoing trends, unfulfilled promises, and concerns about the direction of the world, the idea is to allow art to capture and, at least momentarily, dispel feelings of unease, impatience, and disappointment.
Fed Up Futures connects the practices of the two artists, blending their distinctive, playful styles to explore the tangled web of fortunes, delusions, and disillusionments shaping our perception of the future. Through a variety of media, the artworks delve into the need for constant nurturing—whether through the saccharine reassurances of fortune cookie wisdom or the dopamine-fueled allure of endless scrolling—while disclosing the pitfalls of misinterpretation, misinformation, and impending misfortunes. With a sharp, pessimistic edge, the exhibition questions the diet of narratives we are being fed and asks: how much, and at what cost? Reflecting on a future already written by the biases of both recent and distant pasts, the title Fed Up Futures encapsulates a pre-programmed and pre-fed—almost algorithmic—sense of destiny that feels as inevitable as it is unsettling.
Public program:
Guiding, gazing, and listening
Miao Fangping and Jelisaveta Rapaić in conversation with Smaranda Krings and Eva Kovač
Artist Talk on Friday, January 17, 2025 at 5:30 pm
Visiting the show:
in December Friday, December 13, 2024, 6 pm (Opening)
Saturday, December 14, 2024, 12 – 5 pm
and per request to contact[@]questionmeandanswer.com
in January January 8 - January 25, 2025
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday: 1 – 6 pm
Thursday: 1 – 8 pm
Saturday: 11 – 2 pm
and per request to contact[@]questionmeandanswer.com
Artists:
Miao Fangping (China, Fujian/Austria, Vienna) is a multidisciplinary artist currently studying at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, whose art practice spans performance, video, and installation. Miao Fangping often works site-specifically and employs the body as a potent agent in artistic expression, exploring its sensual, social, and philosophical dimensions. The resulting pieces often delve into the themes of identity, technology, consumption, and power relations inherent in patriarchal, racist, and capitalist systems.
Jelisaveta Rapaić (USA, New Jersey/Serbia, Belgrade/Slovakia, Bratislava) is an artist and an independent curator. Through her visual language, comprised mainly of textile installations, she tries to create islands for examining and testing feminist practices by allowing her work to be activated in contact with the audience. Until its recent abolishment, Jelisaveta Rapaić worked as a public program curator and PR for Kunsthalle Bratislava. Currently, she is enjoying recentering and preparing upcoming exhibitions while pursuing a PhD at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava.
This exhibition is part of the QMA Artist Collective program, which is supported by MA7 and BMKÖS. It is being realized in collaboration with DAS WEISSE HAUS as part of its yearly program, which is also supported by MA7 and BMKÖS.
More info
www.questionmeandanswer.com | @questionmeandanswer
www.dasweissehaus.at | @dasweissehaus