Horizons of Autonomy
06. Sept - 04. Nov. 2023
Opening: 6.9.2023, 19.00 h
Participating artists: Rufina Bazlova, Attila Bagi, Alice Hualice, Zoe Leonard/Zsuzsanna Szegedi-Varga, Hanna Rullmann and Faiza Ahmad Khan, Zsuzsanna Simon, Lázár Todoroff, Gabriella Tuboly-Vincze
Curated by Erzsébet Pilinger
Rivers, lakes, swampy lands and inanimate objects of nature have become accepted in law as "environmental personalities" for new opportunities for environmental protection in recent years in New Zealand, India, and Europe. The rights of nature itself were recognized by a Pennsylvania settlement earlier, in 2006, the same appeared soon in Ecuador's constitution, and then Bolivia declared that nature had the right to both respect and regeneration. Their autonomous existence and right to protection became recognized so. In parallel with this change in jurisprudence, however, new ecological perspectives have emerged, according to which cooperation is dominant in the relationship between human beings and non-human beings, rejecting not only the central role of humans, but also views that consider humans to be autonomous and independent. David Abram thought of a "more-than-human" world in this way and then the rejection of human superiority and the idea of the autonomy of the planet, and even the objects of the universe, appeared in the theories of object-oriented-ontology.
The possibilities of autonomy (i.e. self-determination, one's own laws, freedom, among others) are, as can be seen from all this, constantly changing. But not only in planetary dimensions: the most sensitive social and individual conflicts of the present become apparent and understandable by articulating this and expressing their absence. With the help of the concept of autonomy, which may seem difficult to grasp in philosophical texts, it is possible to visualize all, one of our most basic psychological needs, the dynamics resulting from our social relationships, and also our points of connection to the state—however seemingly invisible, and even how the greater political horizons are drawn.
The latter becomes especially important at a time when state autonomy, which is considered one of its most influencing forms of autonomy, is being threatened by external forces near us. All this also raises the question of what may mean the autonomy of an individual who is forced to flee because of the disintegrating or collapsing state-system. But the state exercising exclusive power is at least as much of a threat to the individual, and it becomes questionable how the momentum of democratic processes can form a new autonomy in these conditions, and how the public's technical media or the narratives appearing through appropriated traditional art forms as new medium affect all of this.
In the course of everyday life, the consequences of the functioning of the institutional system can determine the fate of the individual, creating heteronymous situations, i.e. situations shaped by external laws or on the contrary, helping autonomy. In connection with this, the works appearing in the exhibition touch on questions such as whether the institutionalization of radical social utopias guarantees the dignity of the individual (while receiving hospitalization, losing employment, or even aging), or how a community can respond to the undermining of the university's autonomy in the circumstances of an authoritarian state. In addition, how to protest against institutional violence, how a voter can express his desire for a fallible, empathetic and active leader, or what are the chances of individual autonomy in capitalism in general.
But the latter is equally influenced by everyday moral norms and ideals that reflect different role expectations, often imposed habits, both in terms of our appearance and our behaviour. Here it is worth recalling - acknowledging our vulnerability - for the sake of our desire for freedom and independence, the ideas of the two philosophers who have defined the concept of autonomy most in the history of philosophy: the "dare to think!" axiom from Kant and the possibility of "non-participation" raised by Adorno.
Special thanks to: Bence Bettina, Hesz Ágnes, Osváth Zsuzsanna, Sóti Márton, Szegedi-Varga Zsuzsanna, Kristina Walter, Hauser & Wirth, New York
Opening hours:
Tuesday - Friday 14 - 18 h
Saturday 13 - 15 h