The Museum of Non Participation

Karen Mirza and Brad Butler conceived The Museum of Non Participation in 2007 when - during the Pakistani Lawyers movement in Islamabad - they viewed the protests and subsequent state violence from a window in The National Art Gallery. Since then they have pursued ideas connected to their position that day - through conversation, images, activities and narratives following strands of dialogue to different people, places and contexts.

That is what the press release says... I am always skeptical of work that is participatory but which involves funded western artists exploring the geopolitical outside of their own boundaries, as it can often be a form of neoliberal-colonialism, and probably because works like this parallel my own practice, interests and fears.

I arrived early at the Museum located in the back of one of the hairdressers dotting Bethnal Green Road. The hairdresser was buzzing away at a young Asian lad's hair while a group of older men sat in the waiting chairs chatting and socialising. I love the diversity of the East End, but am acutely aware of its lack of cultural integration. I walked into the shop as everyone turned around and we all smiled at each other, as I awkwardly tried to figure out where I was going. The exhibit is not immediately apparent and that makes entering this shop an intrinsic part of the experience of this piece. Walking through a back door into a courtyard I was greeted by the standard opening affair, small bar and some last minute setting up. I wandered into the exhibition space, a small white space and encountered a minimal information-based aesthetic, binders, slideshow, videos with headphones and beanbag cushions...

Spending some time with the work, it opens a window into a process that successfully engages participation and critique, honouring community yet presenting a critical aesthetic encounter. From the video of a solitary action of a woman in various sites in Karachi, to newspaper clipping '10 arguments against violent conflict' by Saeed Ur Rehman speaking about prioritising the cultural over the biological, the exhibition makes you think, rethink and consider. ...

Friday 25 September – Sunday 25 October 2009

Yaseen’s, 277 Bethnal Green Road, London E2 6AH

Open Tuesday – Saturday 1pm-8pm Sunday 1pm- 6pm Closed Mondays

Free Entry