What artists are doing now. Hungarian artist Csaba Nemes in Budapest
An inspiration and mutual solidarity project for the creative industries
In the current situation, clearly our top priority is to take care of our families, friends and fellow citizens. Nevertheless, while public life is paralyzed and museums, galleries and cultural institutions are closed, in many of us neither the urge to work nor the creative spark have disappeared. In fact, quite the opposite is happening in what is turning out to be a time that befits self-reflection and the generation of new ideas for the future. Although we are at home and self-isolating, we all – artists, creatives and Arterritory.com – continue to work, think and feel. As a sort of gesture of inspiration and ‘remote’ mutual solidarity, we have launched the project titled What Artists Are Doing Now, with the aim of showing and affirming that neither life nor creative energy are coming to a stop during this crisis. We have invited artists from all over the world to send us a short video or photo story illustrating what they are doing, what they are thinking, and how they are feeling during this time of crisis and self-isolation. All artist stories will be published on Arterritory.com and on our Instagram and Facebook accounts. We at Arterritory.com are convinced that creativity and positive emotions are good for the immune system and just might help us better navigate through these difficult times.
From his studio in Budapest, Hungarian artist Csaba Nemes answers a short questionnaire by Arterritory.com:
Are you working on any projects right now in your studio? If so, could you briefly describe them?
I’m invited to an international group exhibition which is supposed to be in June, at the Godot Institute of Art in Budapest. It’s titled White Terror, and it’s about how state political power manipulates or terrorises their citizens or non-citizens.
My project would refer to the refugee crisis of 2015. We had big waves of refugees who arrived and partly settled for a while in Budapest in areas surrounding the city’s largest railway station. Because my studio is very close to the station, I went there often and took photos. One day I witnessed a very absurd situation. The station was closed for all international connections because refugees had stormed the station to find some way to get out of Hungary and into Germany. Only one train remained in the centre hall, with an engine decorated with images depicting the opening of the borders between Western and Eastern Europe in 1989. It was a very strange and crazy coincidence. Understandably, the refugees completely misunderstood the images on the engine – they thought that the train was sent by Angela Merkel to take them to Germany. Masses of people occupied the wagons. The train did not move for many hours, but later on, Hungarian authorities decided to let the train leave the station; some 10 kilometres out, the train stopped and went to a fenced refugee camp where people were then stuck for months. I find this story very sad and contradictional. I’d like to do something which is based on this photo material.
Parallel to this project, I work almost daily in my studio because, luckily, this is also the place where I live. I do mostly oil paintings; normally, it’s what I love to do. Right now they are not connected to any upcoming projects. This kind of daily activity could create new ideas: one painting brings the new idea of the next one.
What is your recipe for survival in a time of almost only bad news?
Well, maybe we should not read too much news. (I have to admit that I am also a bit addicted.) Instead, we should read more novels, poems or essays. Also, there are lots of possibilities to see films, theatre plays, music concerts, visit online museums, etc. Personally, for me, studio work can function as a form of therapy, and in these particular days, even more so. A studio is a place where almost anything can happen. I can freely experiment in new directions. Normally, in the everyday rush of things, I try to be more effective – which then mostly kills random results. Maybe it sounds shocking, but I’m enjoying the quarantine because it creates a kind of freedom for me.
What is something that we all (each of us, personally) could do to make the world a better place when this disaster comes to an end? It is clear that the world will no longer be the same again, but at the same time...there is a kind of magic in every new beginning.
In the last few weeks, I experienced in my social media bubble everyone projecting his or her ideology onto the recent crisis. People are rushing forward; they imagine different political scenarios for the near future. Everyone is wondering about what could happen after the epidemic, but we are just in the middle of the crisis. Yes, most probably the world will no longer be the same again, but I think we are not yet able to figure out what it will look like. The conclusion will arrive ‘whether we like it or not’.
The art world and the culture sector is one of the most affected. What is the main lesson the art world should learn from all this? How do you imagine the post-apocalyptic art scene?
I’m afraid that inequality will be stronger than before in the art world. The big ones will survive. In my country, Hungary, the institutions are in ruins anyway because of the cultural war. The big state institutions became irrelevant. The private sector, which became more and more active in the last decade, is again in trouble just a few years out of the financial crisis. Artists and galleries are clearly in a very vulnerable situation. Artist organisations, like unions or self-organised associations, are missing. So, be structured and be organised!
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Csaba Nemes (1966) lives and works in Budapest, Hungary.
Nemes’ visual works are focused on events of the recent past and the present-day simultaneously, both on a personal and historical scale, while watching and portraying such events as processes. His works allow the interpretation of past and current events of Hungarian society beyond the usual media clichés, and refer at the same time to the history and status of the former socialist region.
The status of the Romani people and the increasing racism in contemporary society; the removal of historical monuments and their replacement with new national heroes; events connected with the migrant crisis in Hungary – these are amongst the topics touched upon by Nemes.
His work is widely represented in international museum collections, including those of the Albertina (Vienna), Pompidou Centre (Paris), Mocak (Krakow), Hungarian National Gallery (Budapest), Ludwig Múzeum – Museum of Contemporary Art (Budapest), and others.
He is a lecturer at the Art Academy of the University of Pécs and is represented by Knoll Gallery Budapest/Vienna.
