ATTRACTION OF THE OPPOSITES
↳ a series of exhibitions and publication

What matters, therefore, is the exemplary character of production, which is able first to induce other producers to produce, and second to put an improved apparatus at disposal. And this apparatus is better the more consumers it is able to turn into producers – that is, readers or spectators into collaborators.1
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After more than a decade of hosting a number of artist studios and running a diverse international program of exhibitions and performances the Artist Initiative CUCOSA faced the ultimate blow of having its doors shut down for good. In favor of those who think art to be unnecessary and insignificant we might soon have to witness another shopping complex ascending from the ashes of CUCOSA. Hopefully the initiative will continue its activities elsewhere but then again only time will tell.

In 2011 we introduced for the first time the self-organized platform ATTRACTION OF THE OPPOSITES as a means of establishing actual relations between different artistic disciplines and forms of production. These operate on 3 levels: collaboration, interaction and participation. The aim was to emphasize the necessity of an autonomous practice that could contribute to the enrichment of the cultural environment against the restrictions of the current political and economical climate. The same principles informed the 2012 volume of ATTRACTION OF THE OPPOSITES. A recurring idea was to combine the two seemingly antithetical worlds such as the commercial galleries with the non-profit nature of the Artist Initiative.

The project hosted in nothing close to a white cube, aimed to relate the works and exhibitions to actual time and space and to the social and political realities. It embodied the conditions, in which the different 'art players' acted upon, interacted with, and produced work for and in relation to.
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On the occasion of the two consequent exhibitions that were realized in CUCOSA in 2011 and 2012 under the title ATTRACTION OF THE OPPOSITES we took the liberty to go back in time and bring it to a still by re-visiting the space and re-experiencing the exhibitions by means of a publication. One might wonder what is the justification for publishing a book about something that happened in the past in a place that seized to exist. Given that the time of publication coincides with the time the exhibitions took place in the previous years the book might even seem like a kind of memorial tribute. On the one hand the monumental space of CUCOSA has been indefinitely inspiring us and we cannot but feel robbed by its definitive absence in the days to come. On the other hand we choose to turn this memorial as it were to an anniversary that marks the inauguration and establishment of ATTRACTION OF THE OPPOSITES as a growing adventure.
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1. Walter Benjamin: The Author as Producer (1934), Selected Writings 1931-1934, ed. Michael W. Jennings, Howard Eiland, Gary Smith, Harvard University Press paperback edition, p.777, 2005

ATTRACTION OF THE OPPOSITES, 2012
↳ CUCOSA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands



CUCOSA | Raampoortstraat 16 | 3032 AH Rotterdam
10 - 12 February: Fr - Su 12.00 - 18.00 hrs. during Art Rotterdam
16 February - 09 March: Thu - Sa 12.00 - 18.00 hrs
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For the 2nd time ATTRACTION OF THE OPPOSITES brings together 10 international galleries to co-exist under one roof in a curated exhibition. Attraction of the opposites centers the body and examines the multiple layers around it as they are shaped by the social structures that confront it. The exhibition explores concepts such as individuality, identity and the group, experience versus meaning.

The exhibition –curated by Kiki Petratou- showcases new work of 17 artists working mainly in the fields of video-art and installation. Participating artists: Wietse Eeken, Dwight Marica, Alexis Milne, Hans van der Ham, Midas Zwaan, Rob van der Hoeven, Tjalling Visser, Marie-Louise Elshout, Joris Kuipers, Harm Weistra & Eddi Bal, Yasser Ballemans,
Katharina D. Martin, Marcel Niehoff, Kavecs Projects (Vana Kostayola & Kostis Stafylakis), Kiki Petratou, Fotini Gouseti, Christina Calbari.

In the framework of Rotterdam Museum Night (10 March) ATTRACTION OF THE OPPOSITES presents Toine Klaassen in his interactive performance/installation/intervention OERSOEP C.ODE 2012.

CUCOSA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Curated by Kiki Petratou
February 10 — March 9, 2012
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Exhibition pictures

ATTRACTION OF THE OPPOSITES, 2011
↳ CUCOSA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands



CUCOSA | Raampoortstraat 16 | 3032 AH Rotterdam
10 - 12 February: Fr - Su 12.00 - 18.00 hrs. during Art Rotterdam
16 February - 09 March: Thu - Sa 12.00 - 18.00 hrs
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ATTRACTION OF THE OPPOSITES brings 11 professional and international galleries to co-exist under one roof. The project will be presented in the space of Artists Initiative CUCOSA in Rotterdam during 3 major events: International Film Festival Rotterdam, Art Rotterdam en Rotterdamse Museumnacht.

The following galleries are invited to participate in the project with the following artists: ATM (New York, USA) with Tomoo Gokita / Bernice Steinbaum (Miami, USA) with Ricardo Zulueta / Bob Smit Gallery (Rotterdam, NL) with Birgit Verwer, Cindy Jansen and Rob van der Hoeven / Charlie Smith (London, UK) with Gavin Nolan and Alexis Milne /CUCOSA (Rotterdam, NL) with Dwight Marica, Wietse Eeken, Tonio de Roover, Arjen van Krieken and Toine Klaassen / Galerie Morgen (Berlin, DE) with Peter Buechler / HB Galerie (Rotterdam, NL) with Ruveanne Gerrissen, Mara Castilho and Jan Robert Leegte / Frank Taal (Rotterdam, NL) with Saminte Ekeland, Mike Ottink, Alexander van Merle and Rolf den Dunnen / galerie IRIS CORNELIS (Rotterdam, NL) with Katharina D. Martin and Sanne Luijben / Metis_NL (Amsterdam, NL) with Gil & Moti / Mirta Demare (Rotterdam, NL) with Hernan Marina

The project is part of IFFR's XL jubilee program. Especially for this occassion there will be two compilations of Dutch art videos presented with work by Serge Onnen, Jan van Nuenen, Jasper Scheepbouwer, Adonis Migkos, Martin Hansen, Anne Hartog, Alexander van Merle, Toine Klaassen, Cindy Jansen, Gil & Moti and Duro Toomato. In addition 6 International video art festivals are invited to contribute short video programs: Festival Miden (GR), CologneOFF (DE), Art:Screen (SE), FiXc (FI), Black Duck+Red Nomade (SP/ARG) and the global festival ART BY CHANCE.

During Art Rotterdam "Attraction of the opposites" presents, as part of the exhibition, performances by Ieke Trinks and Toine Klaassen.

In the framework of the Rotterdamse Museumnacht there are three performances scheduled. Duro Toomato presents Slomobat Advice: Yes or No. Dr. Fisheye and Dusty Stray are in charge for live music. En last but not least the evening will be filled with "Neo romantic italo punky ballroom blitz" by DJ "vanallesdoorelkaar" aka Marcel Niehoff.

CUCOSA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Curated by Kiki Petratou
January 26 — March 6, 2011

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Exhibition pictures

ATTRACTION OF THE OPPOSITES @ Kunstvlaai
↳ Amsterdam, The Netherlands



Kunstvlaai,St Nicolaas Lyceum, Amsterdam
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The presentation for Kunstvlaai: Festival of Independents 'INexactly THIS' will showcase work of 7 artists working mainly in the fields of video art and installation:

Dwight Marica (NL), Jan Robert Leegte (NL), Kiki Petratou (GR/NL), Wietse Eeken (NL), Alexis Milne (UK), Marcel Niehoff (NL), Christina Calbari (GR)

The presentation derives its inspiration from the idea of the School as an institution for learning and contributing to the individual's character shaping. By appropriating teaching and learning materials such us tapes, blackboard and computer screens the project seeks to question the role of the 'educator' and the implications it has on individual participants. The works propose how each participant, forced to operate within the framework of the learning and culture industry and negotiate elements such as power, distraction, supervision and mass consumption, can withstand these external conditions and invent strategies of resistance and critique within the format of the exhibition.

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The project and the selection of artists rely on the expressive power of individual works as well as a coherent relation between the works and with the general framework. All of the artists that participate in this project have different social and cultural backgrounds and that will generate fertile and interesting inputs in relation to the theme.

The project will present a wide rage of media (installation, photography, video) that reflects the way the artists respond to the concept and theme. Traditional techniques are used to suggest a viewpoint of the world, which is both fabricated and romantic. These reference to fairy tales and characters deriving from literature and folk tales like in the work of Wietse Eeken. New media and installations incorporate found footage and found objects with the intention to challenge the borders between experience and meaning like in the work of Jan Robert Leegte, Kiki Petratou and Alexis Milne. Christina Calbari's film strip-like blackboard intermingles childhood memories with school experiences to comment on feelings of anxiety and fears and Dwight Marica's re-contextualization of 'useless' objects opts for a new emotional functionality and memory. Whereas these works are generous to their social critique they also reveal authentic human impulses.

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Kunstvlaai: Festival of Independents 'INexactly THIS'
St Nicolaas Lyceum Amsterdam
November 23 — December 2, 2012

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Exhibition pictures

MULTIPLES, 2013
↳ Route du Nord, Rotterdam, The Netherlands



Fotini Gouseti, TAM, Detail, Route du Nord, Zomerhofkwaartier, Rotterdam, 7 -9 June 2013
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On 7, 8 and 9 June 2013 Rotterdam Noord celebrates again 3 days full of art, music and literature. The eleventh edition of Route du Nord will take place this year in a brand new location, the so-called Zomerhofkwartier at the former station Hofplein.
Re-known artists but also new promising talent will present their most contemporary creations corresponding to the festival theme Multiples.

Multiples
The Rotterdam photographer, film and art director Lenny Oosterwijk (1969) and the Greek artist Kiki Petratou (1971) are the guest curators for Route du Nord 2013. For the cultural route they are putting together a central exhibition where artists react creatively in the theme of this year's festival Multiples. The term often refers to a series of identical prints or objects, but the exhibition does not restrict the idea of multiples as a form of art production. Multiples can also refer to approaches such as mosaic, multiform, heterogeneous, multitudinous, collective and polymorphous. With the theme the curators intent to focus on a constructive dialogue between the artists, their practice and their works, which will reflect the current state of affairs, the practitioners' preoccupations and the variety of expressive media.

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Under the theme MULTIPLES Kiki Petratou will be presenting: Efrat Zehavi's 'Passportrraits', a combination of plasticine figurines and photographs of sitters with whom Zehavi develops a special relationship as she invites them not only to pose for her but also to be part of a thematic conversation; Heleen Schröder's 'Face Book', in which we see her fascination about the endless variety of faces and Fotini Gouseti's 'Tam' in which she focuses on genitalia in an attempt to 'tame' the fear and preconceptions related to the social standards.

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Exhibition pictures

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Route du Nord, Zomerhofkwartier, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Curated by Kiki Petratou
June 7 — June 9, 2013

ESPACIO ENTER - 2012
↳ TEA Espacio de las Artes, Tenerife, Spain

ESPACIO ENTER CANARIAS is a International Festival for all sectors related to art and digital culture, for ideas that will allow us to design the future of technological innovation.
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ATTRACTION OF THE OPPOSITES presents "Acting Out", a screening of works of 7 international artists who embed role-playing and moving image in pursuing of their projects. The compilation varying in style and scope brings together artist performances ranging between documentary, animation and video art.

"Acting Out" investigates the role of the artist as director, researcher, messenger, mediator and executor; from the politically engaging work of Gil & Moti and the sociopolitical approach of Duro Toomato, delving into the subcultural movements of Alexis Milne to jump into the fictionalization of reality of Kiki Petratou and the eccentric rituals of Martin Hansen and on to the personal inquests of Adonis Migkos and Alexander van Merle.

TEA, Espacio de las Artes,Tenerife, Spain
Curated by Kiki Petratou
November 8 — November 20, 2012

Program

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ATTRACTION OF THE OPPOSITES is a multidisciplinary project. It aims to question and reflect on the different aspects of our multifaceted culture through exhibitions and festivals, exchange and collaboration.

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The Beehive Experiment
↳ Artists With Attitude, Amsterdam, The Netherlands



The Beehive Experiment, Organized by AWA (Artists With Attitude), Overtoom 301, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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The Beehive experiment is initiated by AWA (Artists With Attitude), to develop an open and lively exhibition space in the gallery at OT301. The gallery is open only once a week (Monday evenings) and includes some sort of happening like lectures or performances.
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Space
Imagine you enter a space filled with stacks of boxes like in a storage. The boxes with one side open present their own world. They are filled by different artists with objects, models, photo's, books, monitors, intriguing mini installations.

Concept
Surprise, flexibility, and self-organization are important points of our concept. Beehive is not a temple but a vivid laboratory, which creates it's own dynamic. It makes it worthwhile to visit regularly, without knowing exactly what will happen.

Artists R not curated
Artists who want to participate get one of these little exhibition spaces over a period of 6 month to show whatever he/she likes. It's free of charge. The only thing we ask the artists is to place a different, interesting artpiece at least every 2 weeks in order to keep the 'beehive' lively. You can foward your box to another artist you know and who is interested in participating. The flexible box-architecture will also allow us to change the over-all-look of the art space regulary.

The Beehive Experiment is not a group exhibition of 32 artists but an accumulation of 32 mini galleries next to each other.

AWA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Curated by the all participants
June 2, 2008— July 22, 2010

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Artists With Attitude were
Merav Artzi, Martin Hansen, Duro Toomato, Kiki Petratou, Maaike Stutterheim, Lucas van der Put, Ernst van Deursen, Judith Witteman, Esther Verhamme, Katja Novitskova.They are primarily busy with enhancing the communication between artists, promoting the space and keeping it alive with alcohol and music.
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Exhibition pictures