At a time of unrest, the Indignados, Occupy Wall Street, the Arab Spring, the actions of the Russian collective Voina, and the trial of the feminist punk group Pussy Riot, there are many rebels without a cause among young artists. Fascination with acts of hooliganism, vandalism, violence and destruction leads them to their aestheticisation, to a ‘habituation of violence’, conscious risk taking, and confronting the public with potential or ostensible danger. Destruction, annihilation, brutality and violence become performative acts, turning into an analysis of the physical aspect of use of force, while vandalism turns into tomfoolery, prankishness or roguish mischief.

Despite their formal differences and different energy charges, the featured works share a common denominator, all being in a way inconvenient, irritating, discomforting, and, through their ‘passive aggressive’ approach, undeniably disturbing.

Patron of the exhibition: Embassy of the United States of America