To celebrate the European Year of Cultural Heritage and Austria’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Austrian Cultural Forum London in collaboration with the Representation of the European Commission in the UK and EUNIC (European Union National Institutes of Culture) presents Another Europe, an outdoor exhibition of photographs, around the Kings Cross area of London, exploring the diversity of European Heritage.
Another Europe features 28 photographs, one from each EU Member-State, mounted on specially designed concrete benches dispersed around London’s King’s Cross area. The photographers represent a wide range of photographic practices and are a mixture of established and emerging talents. Together they voice themes and influences we all recognise as part of our cultural heritage from concrete manifestations such as monuments, buildings and sites to the more ephemeral social aspects such as childhood, fairytales; theatre, landscape, conflict, work, celebration, family, memories, literature and traditions.
Images of NATO observation towers by Belgian photographer Els van den Meerschcontrast with those of a wedding ceremony in Greece by George Tatakis, Petra Lajdova’sstriking portrait of a woman in traditional Slovakian clothing, Marketa Luskacova’s Czech carnival scenes or the installation of a Jeff Koons sculpture at Amsterdam’s Stedelijk Museum by Henk Wildschut. Italian photographer Massimo Vitali, famous for his heat-infused Mediterranean beach scenes, has photographed the Rome Forum while Simon Roberts(UK)
brings us a very British beach scene of the Charles Dickens celebration at Broadstairs
“The Kings Cross / St Pancras area, home to the Eurostar, it is often referred to as the UK’s ‘European Gateway’. This is the ideal space to celebrate a common European heritage while at the same time appreciating the diversity of our EU community.”
“The symbolism of this exhibition will have escaped few. It is an example of one of the many forms of cooperation which has been fostered between the states of the EU over decades. In this the European Year of Cultural heritage we are bringing to London a showcase of European photographic talent. Many of the artist whose work is exhibited will be well know, others less so however, they have all contributed their interpretation of cultural heritage. This focuses not just on the physical manifestations of cultural heritage but also on the way in which this is transmitted. The work illustrates common themes but also highlights the particularities which make up Europe’s rich cultural heritage.” Hamish Park
The bench is an object normally associated with outdoor and park life but in the exhibition they become the bases for the photographs displayed. Using themas the base of a photography exhibition presents us with a unique opportunity to celebrate European heritage while providing the public with a space to rest and recover from fast-paced city life. This project uses these moments of ‘retreat’ to encourage the reflection of a shared common cultural heritage.
