INES DOUJAK

SALE

2 February to 21 May 2018

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INES DOUJAK. SALE

2 February to 21 May 2018

The Large Hall of the LENTOS is transformed into a fashion store! The

Austrian artist Ines Doujak presents her highly unusual fashion collections.

The exhibition space mutates temporarily into a changing room: visitors are

welcome to touch, try on and take pictures.

Citing and at the same time calling into question the glamour of the fashion

world, Doujak s works are characterized both by their determined criticism and

their beauty. The artist brings into play the exploitative structures and the

gender and class order hardwired into haute couture and the garment industry

and deliberately blurs the demarcation line separating fashion statement and

art.

Ines Doujak reckons with the intrinsic power of images in developing her own

compelling formal language. In doing so, she combines elements of collage

with historical and political research, as the exhibition’s curator, LENTOS

director Hemma Schmutz, points out.

The exhibition "Ines Doujak. SALE "offers art to touch and try on. The LENTOS

becomes a place where visitors can experience works of art in the truest sense

of the word. Anyone who has the curiosity and the courage to try things out,

expects an exhibition experience outside the norm, says Doris Lang-

Mayerhofer, cultural councilor of the city of Linz, enthusiastic about the

concept.

The focus is on textile workers burnt to death in their factories, on total

exhaustion as the lot of men and women in the low-wage sector, on dirty

secrets, animal and human skins, Carnival and masquerade, drugs, war and the

devil himself. Motifs and themes are directly inscribed on the textiles as carrier

material. Fabrics, patterns, garments and accessories as well as texts,

publications, objects, videos, dance interludes and pieces of music deal with

the links between fashion, colonialism and globalized relations of production.

The show at the LENTOS lays claim to a great deal of the museum s available

space, from the foyer and the stairwell to the Great Hall on the upper floor. It

comprises altogether seven collections, dating to the years 2012 to 2018, that

address the dark side of the fashion industry. The exhibition s opening day will

see the video work A Mask Is Always Active (part of the Carneval collection)

projected on to the museum s façade.

The exhibition is based on Loomshuttles / Warpaths, an artistic-scientific

research project that has already been going on for many years. The project

includes Doujak s eccentric archive , which traces the history of globalisation

on the evidence of textiles from the region of the Andes. For this purpose, the

archive also enlists the service of an open-ended series of posters, sculptures,

performances and texts, which is very much a work in continual progress.

Having initially committed herself to the analysis, handling and processing of

existing materials, Ines Doujak then proceeded to developing her own

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materials and having garments fashioned from them. Parts of this steadily

evolving fashion collection were already on display in the exhibition Not

Dressed for Conquering at Stuttgart s Württembergischer Kunstverein and in

Masterless Voices at the Bunkier Sztuki Gallery of Contemporary Art in Kracow.

The exhibition at the LENTOS is accompanied by the publication of

Loomshuttles, Warpaths. An Eccentric Archive 2010–2018, with texts in English

by Ines Doujak and John Barker, produced in collaboration with the

Württembergischer Kunstverein.

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WORKS

The Devil Opens a Night School

(Foyer, Main Hall)

A tent made from a specifically designed material, the pattern of which

consists of bleeding horses, rotting grapes, and scorched wood, serves as the

location for the devil s night school. The pattern on the screens and on the

items of clothing is reminiscent of drops of blood. In the video installation the

devil opens a night school to teach the secrets of success and failure. The

circulating school began in the Ukraine and in Spain, countries in which crisis,

violence of profit, and the resulting collapse are directly felt. The business of

war and drugs is shown through the figure of the devil, in his many forms and

names.

Carnival

(Passage between the main hall and the collection, Main Hall)

To confuse rather than hide: In WWI the British Navy painted wild geometric

shapes on thousands of ships to protect them from submarines. The pop-up

store as well as the dolls are covered in the same camouflage patterns. In

some cultures body movements, film, and song are often directly translated

into patterns on textiles, in which the colors go to war with each other, or are

at least in conflict. Held up by a musical off-beat these patterns shake the

fringes and seams, which they see as an expression of an order that must be

broken , says Doujak.

The video A Mask Is Always Active is a musical on carnival, utopia, and

rebellion. It begins with a singing mountain, that was first scaled by

European explorers on the backs of indigenous porters. The mountain has had

enough of the robbery of its riches and the exploitation of the humans working

inside it. And so the mountain begins its jour e to the car ival … Ownerless

voices sing unforgiving songs in the darkness. Some people regret that they are

not dressed to conquer. A brazen researcher, sometimes naked, sometimes

clothed in camouflage, blends with the carnival folk like a group of Dança do

Ombrinho dancers.

Fires

(Main Hall)

Images of flames, chains, and naked human bodies are printed onto bales of

cloth and onto clothing. Burns and burn wounds are a daily part of life for

seamstresses in textile factories in so-called low-wage countries. In order to

keep up with the extremely tightly calculated time schedules, voluntary

over-time is the norm, and in some cases the factories gates are simply locked.

However, the image of fire is not only used metaphorically for the textile

factories that go up in flames due to missing security standards or the burn-out

of the modern-day wage-slaves. It is also a reference to the workers who set

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the factories or even themselves on fire in protest. The 22-year-old textile

worker Chun Tae-il set himself on fire in 1970 in protest of the blatant

exploitation of the mostly female textile workers in the industrial area of

Seoul. We are not machines! he called out as he burnt. The audio file in the

exhibition contains an interview with his sister, the union activist Dr. Chun

Soon-ok.

Dirty Secret

(Main Hall)

Various patterns can be seen on the items of clothing and notebooks displayed

in the pop-up store. The stories behind these patterns were literally woven

into them. In the context of an long-term artistic research called

Loom Shuttles, Warpaths, Doujak investigated the interplay of textiles,

clothing, and colonialism. The artist collected woven, knitted, or embroidered

textiles from the Andes. In that area textiles have a very high significance.

Textiles from that region are shaped by an imperialist history, by oppression,

and by resistance: In the midst of the sharply cut black square the dirty secret

of thousands of years of patterns can be found , as Doujak says.

Booklets entitled Fatal Obstacles or Dangerous Elegance critically remind us of

the colonialist past.

Transport

(Stairwell, Main Hall)

The installation Transport consists of multiple parts: wooden boxes, various

objects (e.g. a necklace on which the conjuror s rabbit is chained that

deconstructs the fiction of comparative advantage in free trade (Doujak),

collages that show porters, and a collection of bags). Images of porters are also

printed on the bags. In many parts of the world cargo is often still transported

by human porters – despite the possibility of using various mechanical

equipment. Due to free trade agreements, low transportation costs, and

technical development in logistics (such as bar codes or container ships),

textile production is becoming increasingly globalized. Retail chains and

fashion brands intentionally look for low-income areas for their production.

Kriminalaffe

(Main Hall)

The items of clothing, as well as a number of objects, such as a folding screen

and a rocking chair, are covered with prints of monkeys and humans found on

the internet. A shawl printed with the words Class Hatred hints at the

connection of social origin and racialization. People with darker skin are

portrayed as monkeys – modern racism has its own iconography. F. W. Taylor

also claimed to see a comparison between human beings and monkeys, in that

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he described workers in 1911 as intelligent gorilla , who try their best to do

as little as possible, without it being noticed . The title Kriminalaffe is taken

from the children s book Kasperglück und Löwenreise by Janosch. The

Kriminalaffe sees how he is turning into a monkey the more he imitates

himself.

Skins

(Main Hall ceiling, Annex Room)

The series Skins is centered around collages made from extracts of historical

botanical boards and atlases on skin diseases. Fantasy creatures are created by

combining illustrations of disease symptoms, drawings of inner organs, but

also representations of animals. Not least of all, the sicknesses refer to

European colonization, where the Europeans brought diseases with them into

the colonies killing hundreds of thousands of indigenous inhabitants. A

sculpture carrying a bouquet of psychedelic plants casts a shadow on the

collages hanging on the wall. It is a reference to a time of colonial expansion, in

which ecstatic altered states of mind were banned in European society. The

ceiling of the main hall is covered in a textile pattern, the space left free is the

shape of a human skin, defining the exhibition space.

Looters

(Main Hall)

The paper-maché figures wear camouflage pants, vintage sweaters, hoodies,

or face masks, and by doing so they are being true to their name. They steal

and present themselves as militant. Some of them could not care less about

bourgeois etiquette as shown by their obscene gestures. The protest against

the capitalist system led to a radicalization in the case of these looters. The

question is raised, who decides who can consume, and who can t? Who has

the right to judge the poor? Who steals from whom, and who can afford to live

within the limits of the law.

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BIOGRAPHY

Ines Doujak, born in Klagenfurt in 1959, is a graduate of the Hochschule für

angewandte Kunst in Vienna. In addition to the fashion industry, the artist

examines in her conceptual work stereotypes in the fields of gender roles and

racism.

Solo exhibitions (selection)

2017 Masterless Voices, Bunkier Sztuki Gallery of Contemporary Art,

Krakow

2016 Not Dressed for Conquering, Württembergischer Kunstverein,

Stuttgart

2015 Not Dressed for Conquering, Johann Jacobs Museum Zurich

2007 Ines Doujak, Galerie Krobath, Vienna

2005 Dirty Old Women, Salzburger Kunstverein

2002 Father Ass, Vienna Secession

Group exhibitions (selection)

2018 4th Dhaka Art Summit, Bangladesh

2017 The Conundrum of Imagination. On the Paradigm of Exploration

and Discovery, Leopold Museum, Vienna

Stealing from the West, Academy of the Arts of the World, Cologne

2016 Peace-Treaty, San Sebastian (Cultural City of Art)

Sans peau / No Skin, SBC Gallery of Contemporary Art, Montreal,

QC

2015 School of Kiev, Kiev-Biennale

All Men Become Sisters, Muzeum Sztuki, Lodz

Die Bestie und ist der Souverän, MACBA (Museu d Art

Contemporani Barcelona), Württembergischer Kunstverein

Stuttgart

wow! Woven? Entering the (sub)Textiles, Künstlerhaus. Halle für

Kunst und Medien, Graz

Share – Too Much History, More Future, Museum of Contemporary

Art Banja Luka

2014 Ejemplos a seguir! Expediciones en estética y sostenibilidad, Museo

Metropolitano de Lima, Lima

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Utopian Pulse – Flares in the Darkroom, Vienna Secession

31ª São Paulo Biennale

Exampels to follow!, Zollverein, Essen

Ten Million Rooms of Yearning Sex in Hong Kong, Para/Site Art

Space, Hong Kong

2013 54th October Salon. No one belongs here more than you, Belgrade

Cultural Center, Belgrade

Acts of Voicing, Total Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul

2012 re.act.feminism #2. A Performing Archive: Fundación Antoni

Tàpies, Barcelona; Museet for Samtidskunst, Galerija Miroslav

Kraljevic, Zagreb

Acts of Voicing, Württembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart

Busan Biennale 2012, Busan, South Korea

Reflecting Fashion, Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig,

MUMOK, Wien

2010 Principio Potosí (Das Potosi-Prinzip): Museo Nacional Centro de

Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid; Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin;

Museo Nacional de Arte La Paz, Bolivien

Trienale Linz 1.0, Contemporary Art in Austria, LENTOS

Kunstmuseum Linz

2008 Peripheral Vision and Collective Body, MUSEION, Bozen

2007 documenta 12, Kassel

2004 Be What You Want, But Stay Where You Are, Witte de With,

Rotterdam

Die Regierung. Paradiesische Handlungsräume, Vienna Secession

2003 How do we want to be governed?, MACBA (Museu d Art

Contemporani Barcelona)

Being in the World, Miami Art Central, Miami

2000 Things we don't understand, Generali Foundation, Vienna

Erlauf Remembers…, Erlauf

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Austrian Science Fund

Doujak received two research grants from the Austrian Science Fund

Loomshuttles / Warpaths (2010-2014), an extensive study of textiles to

investigate their global history characterized by cultural, class, and gender

conflict ; and Utopian Pulse: Flares in the Darkroom (together with Oliver

Ressler 2013 -2015) which resulted in an exhibition in the Secession, Vienna

(2014) and a publication (Pluto Press, London).

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PROGRAM

EVENTS

BLUE PRINT WORKSHOP DEVIL'S FOOD

Sunday, 29 April, 10 am – 4 pm

Ban unique patterns in blue print on fabric. Get to know the blue dyeing of

fabrics with the Zeugfärberei Gutau and try it yourself. The workshop also

includes the lecture Devil's Food.

Costs: € (including admission fee), max. 15 participants, registration at

claudia.kern@lentos.at, T 0732 7070 3601, at the latest one week before the

appointment.

LECTURE DEVIL’S FOOD

Sunday, 29 April, 2 pm

Ines Doujak and John Barker will give a lecture on the cultural background and

history of the color Indigo, in German and English.

open to the public, free admission for lecture-visitors (admission fee for the

exhibitions not included), no registration required

GUIDED TOURS

PUBLIC GUIDED TOUR

every Thursday, 7 pm

duratio hour, costs € , e clusive ad issio , ger a o l

additional Dates:

Sun 4 & 11 February, 4 pm

Tue 6 & 13 February, 4 pm

GUIDED TOUR WITH THE CURATOR

Thursday 22 February, 7 pm

with Hemma Schmutz, german only

FLASHLIGHT GUIDED TOUR

3 February, at 4 pm

i e glish, duratio Mi , € , o ad issio fee

GUIDED TOUR FOR DEAF MUSEUM VISITORS

Saturday 5 May, 4 pm

with sign language interpreter

admission and guided tour free for deafs

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PRESS IMAGES

Press Images are available for download at www.lentos.at/presse

Free use of press images only in conjunction with the relevant

exhibition.

Ines Doujak, Looter, exhibition

view Masterless Voices (detail),

Bunkier Sztuki Gallery of

Contemporary Art in Krakow,

2017, photo: Studio FilmLOVE

exhibition view Masterless

Voices, Bunkier Sztuki Gallery of

Contemporary Art in Krakow,

2017, photo: Studio FilmLOVE

Ines Doujak, from the series

Skins, 2017

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Ines Doujak, from the series

Skins (draft), 2016

Ines Doujak, Untiteld, 2013

Ines Doujak, Transport, fabric

design (detail), 2014

Ines Doujak, Looter, exhibition

view Stealing from the West,

Academy of the Arts of the

World, Cologne, 2017

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Ines Doujak, John Barker

The Devil Opens a Nightschool,

2015, video still

Ines Doujak, John Barker,

A Mask is Always Active, 2014,

video still

exhibition view Masterless

Voices, Bunkier Sztuki Gallery of

Contemporary Art in Krakow,

2017, photo: Studio FilmLOVE

exhibition view Ines Doujak.

Sale, LENTOS Kunstmuseum

Linz, 2017

photo: maschekS.

exhibition view Ines Doujak.

Sale, LENTOS Kunstmuseum

Linz, 2017

photo: maschekS.

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exhibition view Ines Doujak.

Sale, LENTOS Kunstmuseum

Linz, 2017

photo: maschekS.

exhibition view Ines Doujak.

Sale, LENTOS Kunstmuseum

Linz, 2017

photo: maschekS.

exhibition view Ines Doujak.

Sale, LENTOS Kunstmuseum

Linz, 2017

photo: maschekS.

exhibition view Ines Doujak.

Sale, LENTOS Kunstmuseum

Linz, 2017

photo: maschekS.

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Exhibition Title INES DOUJAK. SALE

Exhibition Period 2 February to 21 May 2018

Opening Thursday, 1 February, 7 pm

Press Conference Thursday, 1 February, 10 am

Exhibition Venue Foyer, Stairwell, Main Hall

Curator Hemma Schmutz

Exhibits fabrics, cuts, clothes, accessories, texts, texts,

objects, videos

Publication The exhibition is accompanied by the publications

Warpaths. An Eccentric Archive 2010–2018 (price:

€ ) with texts by Ines Doujak and John Barker

published by Spector Books and the fashion

magazine SALE. In English Language. In

cooperation with the Württembergischer

Kunstverein Stuttgart.

All publications can be purchased in the LENTOS

Shop or at lentos.at/shop

Exhibition Architecture Mateusz Okonski

Opening Hours Tue–Sun 10 am to 6 pm, Thur 10 am to 9 pm, Mon

closed (except 2.4. und 21.5.2018)

Open on public holiday 1.4., 1.5., 10.5. and

20.5.2018

Admission € , co cessio s € 6

Press Contact Clarissa Ujvari

Tel. +43(0)732/7070-3603

clarissa.ujvari@lentos.at

Ernst-Koref-Promenade 1

4020 Linz

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