Entangled interpretations and a transnational art exhibition:The case of (…) Ketsin! Art from the Kyrgyz Republic (Shoreditch, May 2013)

Abstract

Through the case study of a visual arts exhibition on the Kyrgyz Revolution, (...) Ketsin! (May 2013), this article traces the complex set of factors that influence how a transnational exhibition is interpreted. Combining literatures on visual representation, the role of intentionality in authorship, and, museum and gallery studies, I propose here the notion of ‘entangled interpretations’ to convey the overlapping and muddled layers rather than discrete parts that together constitute interpretation. These layers comprise: the artworks; other works in the same genre and other works by the same artists; the exhibition design and display; the architecture of the venue; the artists’ intentions; the roles of commissioner, sponsor and curator; and, the split audience: original and intended.