September 4 – November 21, 2010

The exhibition Make Yourself at Home features ten artists and artists' groups from around the world, all of whom present works that address the notion of hospitality. The contemporary world is characterised by the constant movement and displacement of people, but also by the increased unwillingness of countries to welcome migrants.

Participating artists are A Kassen, Philip Aguirre y Otegui, Kader Attia, Kenneth A. Balfelt, Olaf Breuning, Mie Mørkeberg, Otobong Nkanga, George Osodi, Pascale Marthine Tayou and Wooloo.

The Belgian artist Philip Aguirre y Otegui presents Cambiamos el Mundo ('Let's change the world'), a wall painting which shows a dinner party in full swing, and which is both an homage to hospitality and a satire on evenings spent changing the world over a bottle of wine. The artist is also represented by a number of sculptural pieces.

Nigerian artist Otobong Nkanga (living and working in Antwerp and Paris) has a sharp focus on the materiality of life. The Taste of a Stone, is a work in a number of chapters. The first chapter centres on a curious stone, and operates as an introduction, while also suggesting the particular hospitality of places of worship. The other chapters are represented in five short videos which tell different stories connected with the stone: stories of love, rejection, fear, submission and dependence.

The Cameroonian artist Pascale Marthine Tayou (living and working in Belgium) has created a new piece, entitled Home Sweet Home. The work is made up bird houses tied together, and sits on wooden columns like a fisherman's home. On the ground the artist has placed a large group of readymade statues from West Africa, depicting black figures in the dress of 'modern' types such as lawyers and businessman. 

The exhibition is curated by Charlotte Bagger Brandt and Koyo Kouoh.

More information:
www.kunsthalcharlottenborg.dk

Image: Philip Aguirre y Otegui, Man with Mattress, 2001, Beton og madras / concrete and mattres, H: 200 cm. Photo credit: Ela Bialkowska.