Cultures of Copy

Culture(s) of Copy is about the phenomenon of the copy as a global cultural strategy. The discussion of intellectual property, as it has already been treated in diverse ways, is only one angle from which one can approach the topic. The ‘copy’ here is understood positively as a remake, a cultural translation and an achievement (“You have to copy a master to become a master”, “The best way to appreciate a master is to copy him”). The phenomenon of the copy is seen as a rewarding opportunity to understand and reflect on cultural differences beyond the rather poor terms of a dichotomy of East and West.

The works presented can be divided into different topics (’Archive’, ‘Theme Park’, ‘Claim of authenticity by media represented reality’, etc.). Some works use the stocks of art history. Existing artefacts of the economy or art are treated as an archive that one can make use of.

The repetition of known formats and content is not for the sake of repetition, but for the sake of a new definition. The maxim of originality is thereby deliberately ignored – in the age of “copy and paste”, the creation of the NEW is bound by repetition, variation and cultural translation. Other themes include the process of copying itself and the relationship between context and content. Many of the works deal with the question of authenticity in a world in which reality is mediated mainly through the mass media.

Interestingly, languages are no exception. They don’t deliver what they are supposed to do: to find a title for this exhibition that is applicable to both the English language as well as the Chinese language proved to be nearly impossible. Words don’t copy, they translate.

The exhibition has been shown at the Goethe-Institut, Hongkong, from June 22 – July 31, 2010.

Curated by: Sabine Himmelsbach, Birgit Hopfener, Jiang Jun, Laurent Gutierrez, Valérie Portefaix, Michael Müller-Verweyen, June Yap