Tudor Bratu, The Brutality of Fact (2016–2018)

 

Tudor Bratu addresses the topic of “otherness” from the perspective of his family history. In this work, he analyses patterns and models of urbanisation, and the role they playin framing and perceiving the“other”. In urbanised environments, not onlyis one able to observe the passing of time, butmoreover construction of buildings and urban planning reveal changing attitudes, thoughts, and expressions of ideologies and beliefs.

 

Bratu’spersonal story is one of migration. In 1945 his grandmother became a displaced person after the Soviets invaded parts of Romania, as a political dissident his father fled the dictatorial regime of former president NicolaeCeaușescu, and in 1987, as a migrant boy himself, he left the country in searchofa better future in the Netherlands. The narrative based on family memories and archives is intertwined with a contemplation on urban architecture and individual testimonials of encounters Bratu had whiletravelling throughout Central Europe at the height of the refugee crisis in the summer of 2015.

 

In The Brutality of Fact, Bratu chooses to work with slidefilm, a presentation format positioned in between movement and stillness that evokes an intimate and close encounter. Wandering through Europe, he creates a poignant experience addressingthe life of a migrant trying to gain access to a society.

 

Two-channel synchronised slide show, total running time approx. 30 minutes.

 

 

Tudor Bratu (b. 1977, Bucharest), alumnus of the Gerrit Rietveld Academie and the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam, works with photography, installation, and essayistic forms. His works are included in the Allard Jakobs Collection and the collection of the Kandinsky Library at the Centre Pompidou. Bratu’s interests are further oriented towards studies in art history and philosophy. Since 2010 he has managed the artists-in-residency platform bucharestair.com in Romania, as well as being involved in teaching and curatorial projects. For further information please visit www.tudorbratu.com.

Place:

The Seweryn Udziela Ethnographic Museum in Krakow
ul. Krakowska 46

Exhibition open:

25.05–24.06.2018
Tue–Sun 10 a.m.–7 p.m.
31.05 closed

Tickets:

6 PLN / 9 PLN