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Nir Alon and Gazmend Ejupi, The Ground On Which I Stand, 2015 , Installation View
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Nir Alon, The Ground On Which I Stand, 2015 , tape drawings, sculpture
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Nir Alon, The Ground On Which I Stand, 2015 , tape drawings, sculpture
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Gazmend Ejupi, The Ground On Which I Stand, 2015 , digital video, monitor, bricks
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The Ground On Whhich I Stand

Nir Alon and Gazmend Ejupi,

curated by Michele Robecchi
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The Agency is pleased to present ‘The Ground on Which I Stand’, a collaborative exhibition between artists Nir Alon and Gazmend Ejupi, curated by Michele Robecchi.

‘The Ground on Which I Stand’ is based on a speech given by the great, late American playwright August Wilson (1945-2005) on the occasion of the Theatre Communications National Conference in New York in 1996. A key part of Wilson’s statement was about the difficulties he was having in separating his concerns with theatre from his concerns of his life as an African-American. 'It is difficult to disassociate one part of my life from another. I have strived to live it all seamless … art and life together, inseparable and indistinguishable. The ideas I discovered and embraced in my youth when my idealism was full blown I have not abandoned in middle age when idealism is something less the blooming, but wisdom is starting to bud. The ideas of self-determination, self-respect and self-defense that governed my life in the ’60s I find just as valid and self-urging in 1996.’

Taking the cue from Wilson’s plea, the exhibition aims to investigate the impossibility of separating art from life and how they contribute to shaping our vision of society. Nir Alon (b. 1964) and Gazmend Ejupi (b. 1973) both share an interest in theatrical forms of representation as well as a constant struggle to define their cultural and geographical identity. The resulting sense of displacement is reflected in their different practices and the dialogue they entertain. 

This exhibition, now in its third incarnation, marks the first collaboration between the two artists after years of acquaintance, and it’s a celebration of how their cultural diversity has revealed many unexpected common traits and trajectories as their friendship progressed. The choice of investigating their own individuality, as well as issues of nostalgia, belonging, absence, integration and diversity, through a joint statement reveals an exploration of everyday reality counterbalanced by complementary narrative models.

The public display of their perception of the changes that have characterized their lives is an invitation to enter a moment of collective history and experience a personal one, and to embark on a journey to discover the ground on which you stand.

‘The Ground on Which I Stand’ first opened at Chelouche Gallery in Tel Aviv in spring 2011 and at Tetris in Prishtina in autumn. Following the date in London, it will travel to Hamburg for its conclusive leg, where a catalogue documenting all four exhibitions will be launched.

Nir Alon (b. Israel, 1964, lives and works in Hamburg). Selected solo exhibitions include Sebastian Fath Contemporary Art, Mannheim (2009), ‘The State of Things’ (Tinderbox Contemporary Art, Hamburg, 2008), Chelouche Gallery, Tel Aviv (2006) and ‘This Way or Another’ (Kunstverein Buchholz, 2005).
Selected group shows include ‘Notes of This Side’ (Nachtspeicher23, Hamburg), ‘Beit Hair’ (Tel Aviv Museum for Urban Culture, 2013), ‘Weltanschauung/Visione del Mondo’ (Art Forum Wurth, and Capena, Rome, 2009), ‘Access to Israel’ (Israelische Gegenwartskunst, Judisches Museum, Frankfurt, 2008), and ‘Licht – Glas – Transparenz’ (Kunsthalle Osnabruck, 2007).
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Gazmend Ejupi (b. Prishtina, 1973, lives and works in London). Selected solo exhibitions include ‘Romanian Story’ (The Agency, London, 2013), ‘The Wedding (The Agency, London, 2011), ‘Age of innocence’ (Camden Art Gallery, London, 2009), ‘Gazmend Ejupi’ (Clockwork Gallery, Berlin, 2008), and ‘The Gold Label’ (Dardania District, Prishtina, 2004).
Selected group shows include ‘Michael Jordan’ (Stanley Picker Gallery, London, 2013), ‘The Gathering’ (Galerie Yukiko Kawase, Paris, 2013), ‘Carte Blanche’ (Galerie Analix Forever, Geneva, 2010), ‘Tina B’ (National Gallery of Prague, 2010), the 4th Tirana Biennale (National Gallery of Tirana, 2008) and the Celeste Art Prize (Trauman Brewery, London, 2006).