After the official collateral events "Jump into the Unknown" within la Biennale di Venezia in 2015 and "Taste of Tea", the parallel exhibition of the 15th Istanbul Biennale in 2017, NDH presents "Beyond the Horizon" in Sao Paulo, during the 33rd Biennale De Sao Paulo in 2018.
The research destination of "Beyond the Horizon" is a Brazilian city of Belem located in the North of the country. Belem is the gateway to the River Amazon, at approximately 100 km distance from the Atlantic Ocean, on the Pará River, which is part of the greater Amazon
Letter from Istanbul 2017. Yoo Joung Hye
River system. Founded in the beginning of the 17th century the name of the city that is Portuguese for Bethlehem reflects the culture and religion of the conqueror. Belem was the first city colonized by the Kingdom of Portugal in the Amazon. It became the part of Brazil in the second half of the 18th century.
With the project "Beyond the Horizon" NDH continues its journey on important geographic routes and the locations of special environmental, cultural and historical significance. Working in Belem is especially rewarding for the NDH artists-researchers for several reasons. Brazil is the home to 13% of all known species. It is the country with the world's richest flora and fauna, so the major environmental issues connected with the maintenance of the necessary balance between the biodiversity, industrialization, and agriculture are crucial for the country with 207.7 million population.
At the gateway city of the Amazon River, the "Beyond the Horizon" will focus on the topics of deforestation in the Amazon basin, illegal wildlife trade, air and water pollution, land degradation and water pollution caused by mining activities, wetland degradation, and severe oil spills, among others.
The article "The vital links between the Amazon rainforest, global warming and you" by the WWF Global reads: "The Amazon rainforest has long been recognized as a repository of ecological services not only for local tribes and communities but also for the rest of the world. It is also the only rainforest that we have left in terms of size and diversity... Filtering and reprocessing the world’s harmful carbon dioxide output... Over the last 150 years, humans have been pumping massive amounts of CO2 into the air by burning fossil fuels, coal, oil and natural gas ..."
Along with the environmental issues, Brazil is the country of the large number of distinct ethnic groups who, prior to the European invasion at around 1500, lived on the territory now known as Brazil. It is also a meeting point of different religions; from Catholicism to Spiritism, the religious forms are a very important factor that shapes Brazilin identity and its diverse culture and art.
During the 20th century, Brazil became one of the important destinations for impressive and innovative contemporary visual art, where the second oldest art biennale of the world - Bienal de São Paulo was initiated in 1951. Brazil is also a motherland of Tropicalia, one of the avant-garde precursors of a socially engaged art.
As a multimedia art project, "Beyond the Horizon" is going to examine the complexity of environmental and social issues - as well as religion, geography, history, and culture of Brazil through installation, video, sculpture, photography, and performance. The title "Beyond the Horizon" refers to the destination of the project that is the farthest location of the NDH's symposiums throughout the last 10 years. On the one hand, the title underlines the vital importance of something happening even beyond the horizon, while on the other it offers the possibility of going outside the visible or hidden limits - not only physically, but also intellectually, in order to research differences and commonalities that can be found beyond the horizon.
Magda Guruli Curator
Nine Dragon Heads.
Open Air Sympoisum dates: 21st.AUG -9th SEPT, 2018 Archive Exhibition : 6th-8th SEPT
Inauguration: 6th.Sept, 6 pm
Preview : 5th~6th. Sept.