In the spotlight: artists from the Netherlands, Iran and Russia collaborate in group exhibit 'Impossible Journeys'

The group exhibition Impossible Journeys in the Netherlands, Russia and Persia: Now and Then is inspired by the book Three Journeys by 17th-century Dutch explorer Jan Streis. This book is a collection of stories and notes that Streis wrote during his journey through east- and southeastern Europe, and the areas bordering it. Contemporary artists from the Netherlands, Iran and Russia travelled part of Streis’ journey to study how travelers experience these areas today. Their resulting artworks shed a critical look on Streis' stereotyped perception of other cultures and eras.

Impossible Journeys shows the work of contemporary artists, as well as archaeological finds from the 15th-19th centuries from the collection of the Museum of Moscow and the Museum-Reserve 'Island-city of Sviyazhsk'.

Soda lime is a teamwork created by Cecilia Hendricks (Netherlands), Sepideh Behrouzian (Iran) and Oleg Elagin (Russia). Artists repeat the path once done by Jan Streis, but they are primarily interested in the phenomenon of sight. The volumetric installation is composed of numerous planes. The viewer appears to be in front of a mirror, where in each of the faces looms an image that can be interpreted in two ways.

Dutch cinematographer Paulien Oltheten presents a two-channel video Walking the Road Overpowered, filmed in the Russian city of Samara and Iranian Isfahan. Unfolding in different countries, the plots of the video work of Oltheten add up to an integral statement about how stories and cultures can be interpreted in parallel, opposite or connected.

31 January—29 March 2020 at the Museum of Moscow, Russia

Are you a Dutch or Netherlands-based artist performing abroad in the (near) future and would you like to be in the spotlight? Send us an email with detailed information and two horizontal high res images. The editing team will make a selection and get back to you.

Check out the complete overview of Dutch cultural activities in Russia in our database. If you are a cultural professional who wants to participate in a Shared Cultural Heritage project, feel free to contact Sofia Lovegrove.

'Impossible Journeys' is part of the 'Heritage: Common Grounds' project, funded by the EU with participation of Shared Cultural Heritage, Victoria Gallery in Samara, European Cultural Fund, Foundation Compagnia di San Paolo, Herbrandi Cultural Foundation, Cargo in Context, Castrum Peregrini Cultural Center, Moscow Museum, Va Isfahan Center for Contemporary Art, Dutch Embassy in Moscow, Dutch Embassy in Teheran, Emrooz Gallery in Isfahan, Roberto Cimetta Foundation, Wilhelmina Jansen Foundation, Prince Claus Fund, Creative Industries Fund NL and Mondriaan Fund.