Opening: 7 pm 29th February 2008
Curated by Maja and Reuben Fowkes

Participating artists: Ivan Ladislav Galeta (HR), Csaba Nemes (HU), Amanda Dunsmore (IRL), Rudolf Pacsika (HU), Denis Krašković (HR) and Balázs Beöthy (HU)

They tried to make me go to rehab, I said, “No, no, no.” (Amy Winehouse)

REHAB is a refuge where we can hide when we want a break from contemporary lifestyles and the damaging influence they have on our mental and physical well-being. In a system in which we’re constantly obliged to be socially responsible, in the moments when we want a rest from continuous pressure to conform to social norms, REHAB is an emergency exit. REHAB is also a state of mind, a decision to press pause and unwind, a refusal of ideological conditioning and a rejection of the slavery of political engagement, a shrugging off of the burden of social responsibility and responsible socialising. REHAB purifies us and offers a chance to refresh and recharge our creative energies.

The exhibition features the work of artists who in different ways and across various media engage with the idea of REHAB. Several of the artists, through their way of life, promote the idea of resistance and investigate alternative ways of making, presenting and experiencing art, breaking down the barrier between art and life, while others give valuable examples of the renewal of quality of life through life stories and individual experiences. REHAB also features the work of socially-engaged artists made on holiday, or in moments of break, as well as symbolic collective actions and individual protests against the seriousness and banality of the everyday.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a symposium on Sustainability and Contemporary Art: Exit or Activism? in the auditorium of Central European University on Friday 29 February. For more information see the symposium website www.translocal.org/sustainability