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R. Thinking/Dreaming about Overpopulation II
Róza El-Hassan
wood
ca. 75 × 65 × 50 cm
2000
Acquisition 2001
Inv. No. 0098
Roza El-Hassan became known in the international art world because of her “Stretched Objects”, objects from daily life which the artist stretched over the walls with wires. R. Thinking/Dreaming about Overpopulation I and II are classical sculptures. Roza El-Hassan is concerned with differences of cultural tradition, with the problems of minorities, marginalisation and feminist questions connected with those issues.
Both sculptures represent women sitting on the floor. One is wrapped in a black chador and presses an orange balloon to herself, making it easily interpretable as a child. The other figure is made from raw wood, roughly put together. Here the artist rejects depicting female attributes and appears to want to say just “person”. R. Thinking/Dreaming about Overpopulation is a distinctly political work that makes you think: What does “overpopulation” mean, where and for whom? How do we deal with the stream of migrants from the “overpopulated” areas of the world, where do these diffuse fears come from, who encourages them and why?
Brigitte Huck, 2005 (translation: Tim Sharp)
Continue readingExhibitions
Träume ... träumen, Schallaburg Kulturbetriebsgesellschaft, Schallaburg, 2025
Small Medium Large. Sculptures and Objects from the evn collection, evn sammlung, Maria Enzersdorf, 2022
R.thinking/dreaming about overpopulation, retrospective, Mücsarnok Kunsthalle Budapest, Budapest, 2006
Nach Rokytník. The collection of EVN, MUMOK, Vienna, 2005
Abbild. Recent portraiture and depiction, steirischer herbst, Graz, 2001
Publications
Róza El-Hassan. In Between. Zeichnungen und Objekte [Kunstmuseum Basel, 2012], Ostfildern / Ruit 2012, p. 93
evn sammlung 95–05, Cologne 2005, p. 82 ff
evn sammlung. Ankäufe 2000–2002, Maria Enzersdorf 2002, p. 15, 52
Abbild. Recent portraiture and depiction, 2001, p. 64
LeseRaum, Secession, 7.12.2000 – 21.1.2001 [published on the occasion of the exhibition Objects and LeseRaum by Róza El-Hassan], Vienna 2000, p. s. p.
Context
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