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OCT Contemporary Art Terminal announces After History. Alexandre Kojeve as a Photographer

OCT Contemporary Art Terminal presents After History. Alexandre Kojeve as a Photographer, a research-based exhibition curated by philosopher and art critic Boris Groys. Formerly part of Hexiangning Art Museum in Shenzhen, OCAT has recently become an independent art museum in Shenzhen and appointed art critic and curator Carol Yinghua Lu as its artistic director. On view 21 September–16 November 2012.

This exhibition for the first time unveils to the Chinese public the unique photographic work of Russian-born French philosopher and diplomat Alexandre Kojève, which includes nearly 400 photographs taken in the 1950s and 1960s during his extensive travels in Ceylon (Sri Lanka), China, India, Iran, Japan, Nepal, the Soviet Union, and throughout Western Europe. His journey and lifetime collection of postcards will also be presented together with the images in order to capture the essence of both Kojève’s philosophical thinking and his political practice at once.

The collection of both photographs and postcards portrays the world as Kojève articulated it through his philosophical thinking: an aesthetically harmonious and exotic East; a stiflingly complete and hollow West; and Russia, Kojève’s rapidly changing homeland, is shown mainly through old churches frozen in time. Through its premiere presentation, the thousands of repetitive images in the exhibition visualize a post-historical world awaiting an ideal imaginary of freedom, justice, and equality to be realized through activism. By doing so, it questions the critical capacity for change in our contemporary reality and shows us a global stage anticipating the achievement of another tomorrow.

Before touring to OCAT, this exhibition was initially on display at BAK, basis voor actuele kunst in Utrecht, the Netherlands between May and July 2012 and presented as part of the 9th Gwangju Biennale that was opened in early September.

OCT Contemporary Art Terminal
Enping Road, Overseas Chinese Town
Nanshan District, Shenzhen, China
Hours: Tue–Sun, 10–5:30pm
T +0086 0755 2691 5100
www.ocat.com.cn

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