Aysha E Arar : IN BETWEEN

The in-between can take many forms—temporal, spatial, conceptual, political; it can be a space of possibility, a moment of transit, a right now and then no more. Stories are told, remembered, revealed, anticipated, feared, and perhaps not always recounted in a way that is necessary or desirable; we have left the shore, but our destination is a long way off. Nature is withering to an end—or is it also a beginning that is not yet visible?  What do we consider to be in-between times, in-between spaces, in-between thoughts? From one state to another, from one thought to the next, waiting for a longed-for call, the moment that can change a life, spaces, lands and times that lie behind us or spread out before us. 

According to the political economist and social scientist Maja Göpel, our society is currently in a period of transformation—a period in which many things have come to an end, or even need or needed to be “fought” to an end. In many respects, however, the new has not yet begun: political systems are up for negotiation or have been shattered, are taking radical new forms, gaining dangerous strength or disintegrating. It is therefore also a period that could make new decisions possible, including changes of direction as well as new political, legal and social approaches. 

The invited artists explore precisely these issues and render this in-between moment in political, private, territorial and post-colonial spaces perceptible and tangible—while revealing all of its complexity. The in-between poses dangers, but also opportunities to act in the here and now.