The work of Jens Haaning (Copenhagen, 1965) focuses on the composition of our society and on strategies for communication and for expressing power. The notion of \u00abfrontier\u00bb to determine the idea of belonging or exclusion is fundamental to his discourse. Haaning explores the complexity of cultural assimilation from two points of view: that of the majority and that of the minority. He began investigating these subjects in 1994, when the impact of globalisation and standardisation had only made a timid appearance. Now, when countries such as Denmark are proposing to lower the salaries of refugees simply because they are refugees, or when in Spain the drama of the boatloads of immigrants crossing the straits of Gibraltar is an everyday news item, Haaning\u2019s reflections have become matters of priority.<\/p>\n
This exhibition titled \u00abAntonio, Aurangzeab, Deniz, Ecevit, Faysal, Hakan, Murat, \u00d6mer, Radovan, Sambas, Shabeer and Dennis\u00bb is a selection of visual and audio items from some of the artist\u2019s earlier projects (most of them designed for public open spaces), which explore the notions of cultural difference, foreignness, frontiers and exclusion.<\/p>\n
Ma\u2019lesh (2000) is a large box of light with the phrase \u00abWho cares?\u00bb written on it in Arabic \u2013 an ambiguous statement that can be interpreted as one of either resentment or resignation. The message conveyed by this box of light \u2013 which in form could resemble a advertisement \u2013 is intelligible only to those who know the language. If belonging or exclusion are determined by access to certain codes, here Haaning inverts them, so that those people who are usually excluded are now the ones who can understand the message. It is not surprising that Ma\u2019lesh, originally designed for the front of a building in Besan\u00e7on, France, was not allowed to be installed during the election campaign because the mayor considered it a provocation.<\/p>\n
Antonio, Aurangzeab, Deniz, Ecevit, Faysal, Hakan, Murat, \u00d6mer, Radovan, Sambas, Shabeer and Dennis are the names of the persons in Foreigners Portraits (2000). All of them are first-generation refugees in Copenhagen. In this series of photographs, the members of a community that are generally excluded from the dominant systems of representation are converted by the artist into the principal characters. Despite the fact that the twelve persons portrayed have fully assimilated the dress codes and accessories of our standardised Western societies \u2013 Jack & Jones trousers, Diesel jacket, Puma tee-shirt, Fred Perry polo shirt, Calvin Klein shoes, Nokia mobile phone, etc. \u2013 they are highly unlikely to be chosen as images for advertising these brands.<\/p>\n