Indoor
No other nation in the world consumes as much oil as the United States does. The attraction of this resource has defined the nation’s policymaking for decades and has left a visible mark on the landscape, especially in Los Angeles. Whilst living in this Californian city, Kaya & Blank filmed the abundant oil refineries and other facilities there. A sequence of their static shots reflects the rise and fall of the pumpjacks in a perpetual, hypnotic mechanical ballet. The Turkish-German artist duo took photographs of American symbols linked to the over-consumption of oil. Taking their cue from one of the very first photographs in history, created by Nicéphore Niépce using bitumen, the pair fixed their prints in place with tar. Their Crude Aesthetics installation presents a poetic, dystopian vision of a society shaped by oil.
Exhibition layout and design by Images Vevey and the artists
In collaboration with Musée Historique de Vevey and Confrérie des Vignerons
In the Jardin du Rivage, Kaya & Blank also present their series Second Nature.
