"CIVILIZATION" at Auckland Art Gallery, New Zealand
After having been shut down in March, Auckland Art Gallery, New Zealand is now open again its museum doors unveiling the long awaited exhibition Civilisation.Photography.Now
Due to the effects of the Covid 19 pandemic on our global civilization this exhibition seems to be more important and up to date than ever. We all share a general sense of what "civilization" means: a highly advanced human society (above clan, tribe, nation, even empire); city-centered, with technological prowess and mastery of the environment; kept more or less in decent social order; with highly developed arts and sciences; and dealing intelligently with threats as they arrive. As we all are doing now, with a natural one. With the arrival of Covid-19, we are all seeing first-hand what a rupture can do to our systems, our processes, our overall way of life. Now we are all acutely more aware of where our food comes from, where our medical supplies originate, and who our governmental representatives are – even on the lowest levels – because they hold the lives of our communities in their hands. Our civilisation has always had its crises, but they have been essentially local, regional or national. Even the 20th-century’s two World Wars did not affect every part of the world simultaneously to the same degree. This crisis has.
Civilisation.Photography.Now is an international photography exhibition of monumental scale, featuring the work of over hundred contemporary photographers from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia and Europe with over 200 original photographs being exhibited. The exhibition looks at the phenomenal complexity of life in the twenty-first century.
Michael Najjar participates in this exhibition with 3 large scale artworks from his acclaimed "outer space" series.
Curated by William Ewing and Holly Roussell
Civilisation.Photography.Now is co-produced by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, and the Foundation for the Exhibition of Photography, Minneapolis and Lausanne. Ron Brownson is the co-ordinating curator for Auckland Art Gallery.
Exhibition dates: 16 June - 8 October, 2020
https://www.aucklandartgallery.com
Book available:
www.thamesandhudsonusa.com/books/civilization-the-way-we-live-now-hardcover