Towards an Affinity of Hammers, a project co-curated with Théo-Mario Coppola

[home screen image credit: Walid Raad, The dead weight of a quarrel hangs (still), 1996-1999, Collection of the Contemporary Art Fund of the City of Geneva (FMAC)]

Curated by guest Curator and Arts Writer Théo-Mario Coppola and CALM – Centre d’Art La Meute co-curating leadership Oriane Emery & Jean-Rodolphe Petter, Towards an Affinity of Hammers is a curatorial project consisting of a group exhibition and a public programme.

‘An affinity of hammers does not assume we will automatically be attuned to others who are stopped by what allows us to pass through, even when we ourselves have the experience of being stopped. We have to acquire that affinity. It is what we work toward.’ — Sara Ahmed*

Towards an Affinity of Hammers, the title of the project, refers to ‘An Affinity of Hammers’*, a seminal essay by prominent figure in intersectional studies and feminism Sara Ahmed addressing the silencing and censoring of critical feminist speech. From the idea according to which ‘affinity can be acquired through the work of chipping away at the system’ in relation to endured transphobia and adversity as examined by the author, the project addresses idiosyncratic contexts where the power of struggle is a vehicle for self-existence.

As a curatorial team, we are aware that giving voice to critical, rigorous and emancipatory aesthetic practices needs to be done from a firmly intersectional perspective. We consider the underlying issues of suffering and distress and emphasise the striking emotional force of struggle in what unites rather than divides. The reference to the hammer draws attention to the working tool, its powerful impact through its repetitive use, the noise and energy it generates, as well as the metaphors, comparisons and equivalents it evokes. Through the process of hammering, we learn the patience of struggle, its humility and the joy of being connected to other struggles. At the same time, we recognise other struggles that converge in our direction. In a tireless effort, we attune ourselves, as members of the same musical ensemble would, to the score and inter- pretation of a great global revolution or an aggregate of numerous and diverse uprisings.

Hammering is a manifestation of the tenacious insistence that characterises movements of struggle, initiatives of resistance and long-term protests, in contrast to the one-off, spectacular, high-profile events that most often define the discourse and portrayal of uprising. Here, time and action are not seen as distinct, special moments. Rather, they are seen as a continuous stream that flows across many lives, converging into a bigger scale of meaning that surpasses individuality and ego, and which reflects a shared state of being and its interconnectedness. In the selected works, empowerment and recognition of others, and the insurgent spirit that drives them, is reflected alternatively in individual fate, collective labour, community solidarity, shared loss and grief endured with others, whether it be an intimate experience or that of another person or group.

This project as such could be considered as a form of hammering urging unconditional respect for others, improvement in the living conditions of the most vulnerable, and prioritising solidarity with people at risk in all aspects of life, including art as a place of work, production and discourse. Towards an Affinity of Hammers is also intended as a tribute to perseverance of principle and to obstinacy through action, which are reminders that history has no ending, struggle is repeated and perpetuated in the tiny becoming the great, and individuality converging into collective achievement

Théo-Mario Coppola et Oriane Emery & Jean-Rodolphe Petter

*Ahmed, Sara, ‘An Affinity of Hammers’, in Talia M. Bettcher and Susan Stryker, eds., Trans/Feminisms, Transgender Studies Quarterly (TSQ), Volume 3, Issue 1-2, May 2016.

Acknowledgements

CALM – Centre d’Art La Meute thanks its main partners, Cinéma Bellevaux and Cinéma Spoutnik, for the screenings and encounters as part of the programme, as well as Art Genève for the special evening dedicated to the work of Elisabeth Subrin, the round table discussion on ethics in the art world, and ECAL for Elisabeth Subrin’s intervention.

The curatorial team of the project warmly thanks the prac- titioners and the entities representing and distributing their works, including The Estate of Barbara Hammer and Electronic Arts Intermix in New York, the Fonds Municipal d’Art Contemporain in Geneva, Galerie Hubert Winter in Vienna, KOW in Berlin, Manifest Pictures in Paris, Portugal Film in Lisbon and Video Data Bank in Chicago.

CALM – Centre d’Art La Meute gratefully acknowledges Ville de Lausanne, Ernst und Olga Gubler-Hablützel Stiftung, Fonds Cantonal d’Art Contemporain Genève, the Bundesministerium Wohnen, Kunst, Kultur, Medien und Sport of Austria, Canton de Vaud, Art Genève, ECAL – École cantonale d’art de Lausanne for their generous support to the project.