The Aromatic Mandala
A Talk on the Impromptu by David Medalla, introduced by Adam Nankervis, followed by a Participatory Performance.

Curated by Lian Ladia and Jerlyn Jareunpoon

// Date: Friday, October 14, 2011
// Time: 19:00

The Aromatic Mandala is a development of David Medalla’s continuous explorations of olfactory sculpture, participatory art, impromptus and ephemeral environments.  Rooted from an early work,  “Window of papiers d'armenie'” which he created in his room at no.17 rue des Canettes in Paris in 196l – it then developed to be his first biokinetic sculpture, “The Smoke Machine” in 1963 (Redfern Gallery, London), as well as an actualized olfactory environment through a "golden incense burner" in 1963, followed by an Impromptu that happened in 1990 at Times Square in New York City.

In collaboration with General Public, Discoteca Flaming Star and Johannes Paul Raether, the program kicks off Discoteca Flaming Stars’ ZEIG HER, FÜHR VOR, TAUSCH EIN, a three-day performative exhibition/situation featuring performative acts, alongside with images and objects, and will integrate discussion into presentations as a means of opening up a discursive space.

For further information and images on David Medalla, please contact Lian Ladia, lian@plantingrice.com. Other inquiries with regards to ZEIG HER, FÜHR VOR, TAUSCH EIN please contact flamingstar@snafu.de.

Acknowledgements:  Cornelia Lund, Galleria Duemila, Silvana Diaz, Petty Benitez Johannot, Node Center, Perla Montelongo, Discoteca Flaming Star, Cristina Gómez Barrio, Johannes Paul Raether, Wolfgang Mayer, Alex Forsey, Lizza May David, Maria Cruz, James McKinnon, Plantingrice.com

About the Artist

David Medalla is constantly shifting his strategies and media; when one thinks one has him pinned down as a situationist, a surrealist, or a conceptualist, one is stumped as he continues to endlessly conceive other fantastic, often unrealisable schemes.  Fairly unknown to the forefront, he is an icon of an artist who has made no clear distinction between his art and his life. David Medalla's work stretches back to the sixties when he co-founded Signals Gallery in London and presented international kinetic art, among other art forms.  He initiated the "Exploding Galaxies" which mediated relationships between international artists and was a pioneer in participatory art, his work highly resonated with (was highly influential in) the works of Conceptual artists from Brazil (Tropicália/Tropicalismo movement with Lygia Clark and Hélio Oiticica) the Exploding Galaxies.  Aside from his deeply rooted underground core work on the avant-garde scene of London, he became increasingly known for a series of works he did entitled, "Cloud Canyons": thick bubbles that slowly come from a central machine which produces random shapes that glisten like rainbows when perceived by light.  His work was included in Harald Szeemann's exhibition 'Weiss auf Weiss' (1966) and 'Live in Your Head: When Attitudes Become Form' (1969) and in the DOCUMENTA 5 exhibition in 1972 in Kassel. Marcel Duchamp honoured him with a 'medallic' object, as a tribute to his name.  In 1997, he was a DAAD artist in Berlin. Very recently, he has exhibited at the New Museum in New York where the curator hailed his "Cloud Canyons No. 14" as an iconic sculpture in Contemporary Art.

Related Events organized by Discoteca Flaming Star:

FIRST VISIT – TAUSCH EIN

Friday, October 14, 19:00, General Public

A Talk on the Impromptu by David Medalla, introduced by Adam Nankervis, followed by Participatory Performance, The Aromatic Mandala.

SECOND VISIT- FÜHR VOR

Saturday, October 15, 15:00-20:00 or later, Basso Studio

Performances and discussions by Discoteca Flaming Star, Voin de Voin, Ute Waldhausen, Johannes Paul Raether, Ulrike Müller, Kerstin Stakemeier, Anita DiBianco, Ian White and host Stefan Fente.

THIRD VISIT – ZEIG HER

Sunday, October 16, 15:00-20:00 or later, General Public

Performances and discussions by Johannes Paul Raether, Ulrike Müller, Discoteca Flaming Star, Voin de Voin, Ute Waldhausen, Kerstin Stakemeier, Anita DiBianco, Ian White and host Stefan Fente.