Opening: 20 December, 19:00
20. December 2023 - 11. January 2024
Location: Fabrikraum Kunstverein
Artists: Julia Strikovska and Deniz Güvensoy


"The veil of ignorance" is a key concept of the political philosopher John Rawls. It is based on the principle that, to ensure ultimate social and political justice, representatives of basic institutions and structures make their judgments as if they are behind a veil that conceals all personal characteristics and concepts, social and historical circumstances, to prevent biases while making decisions.

Despite often being considered idealistic, Rawls’ idea of justice was adopted as a cornerstone for social agreements in so-called developed Western democracies. The concept is best illustrated by the image of the ancient Greek goddess of justice, Themis (Femida).

However, even if it sounds perfect, to what extent could this idea be applied to practical conditions, in real life? To what extent can agents of a judicial system, state institutions, the public, and opposing political groups isolate themselves from their cultural-historical, socio-political, and psychological backgrounds?

The artwork consists of twelve photographs of people with different backgrounds wearing blindfolds reminiscent of the veil of Themis. Taking the pose inherent to the goddess of justice and slightly manipulating with an angle and perspective we observe how the perception of having agency, power, dedication, and determination could change.

Thanks to: Laurus Edelbacher, Günes Dogan, Nasrullah Azimi and Paulina Flores

Biography of the artists:

Julia Strikovska is an artist, curator, lawyer, and MBA graduate from Kyiv, Ukraine. The main part of her artistic research and practice belongs to the word and text as the means of creating and mapping reality and experience as the universal ‘record’ of reality perceived. The topics also include the matters of identity definition: personal, cultural, and social, as well as the identity of the larger groups such as communities, countries, and regions, as well as educating on human rights and basic law principles.

Deniz Güvensoy is an artist, curator, and cultural researcher. She received her Doctorate in Fine Arts degree from Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University in Istanbul. After working as an editor, art critic, and assistant Professor in Istanbul, she moved to Vienna in 2016. Since 2017, she has been working on her second doctoral research project in the PhD in Philosophy program at the University of Applied Arts Vienna. Her research and artistic practice focus on the mobility of socially excluded bodies, b/ordering, visual politics, and political performativity. She is the chairwoman of the project space and art association, Fabrikraum Kultur und Kunstverein.

Program
Vernissage: 20 December 2023, 19:00
Artist talk: 04 January 2024
Finissage: 11 January 2024
Opening Hours: Thu, Fri 14:00-18:00 and by appointment: hello@fabrikraum.org

This exhibition is a collaboration and part of the ‘QMA Artist Collective’ program, which is supported by MA7, BMKÖS, and Foto Leutner.