Cristina David ‘squats’ in the frei_raum Q21 exhibition space throughout the duration of the exhibition “Stopover – Ways of Temporary Exchange” and uses it for her own needs.

‘I don’t think me living in the gallery space is art. I think it is more of an artistic and social statement: the basic need to have a space in which to live and the intellectual need for comfort.’

She wishes to question the way in which artworks are highly protected, judiciously taken care of, and given lots of valuable space, whereas artists often face precarious financial circumstances and poor living conditions.
The architect Ana-Maria Machedon has designed and built an actual living space for David in which she takes up residence at the very centre of the exhibition. It is an apartment that meets the real personal needs of the artist to have a space in which to live and create work.

‘I will not be exposed, but I will not hide either. The exterior of the dwelling in which I will live can be seen by visitors. I will live my life like in a normal house, coming in and going out from time to time, so I may or may not be seen by visitors. I am taking the space to live, not necessarily to create. I don’t want to pander to the public. 
I don’t want to perform in front of it. I don’t want to transform my daily life into an art piece. I want to maintain my privacy. I am not an exhibitionist; I am only transforming a space that is by definition connected to the works of art. Of course, it is also about the roles of galleries and museums, about their focus on the works, and the way they sometimes forget about the individuals that create them.’
 

Cristina David lives and works predominantly in Bucharest.

On October 7, Cristina David will perform together with Michael Ehn (chess historian, Schach und Spiele, Vienna) “Re-enactment of a Chess Game” as part of the ORF Long Night of Museums.
This historical re-enactment of a chess game mixes chess history and art with facts and fiction.
In late 2014, Cristina David used her KulturKontakt residency in Vienna to conduct research on an Austrian female chess player from the early 1930s. Through this research, she was introduced to Michael Ehn, who runs the bookshop Schach und Spiele in Vienna’s seventh district and has a deep knowledge of chess and its history.
They became friends and play chess every now and then. For this evening event, they have prepared a joint performance.
Facebook-Event

More events:
Alina Șerban (art historian, Bucharest/Ploiești) in conversation with Cristina David
Artist talk
Date: October 17, 18:00

Frau Schach (Ms Chess)
Meeting of the Viennese women‘s chess club
Date: November 7, 17:00

Venue: frei_raum Q21 exhibition space
Exhibition thru Sat, Nov 25, Tuesday – Sunday 13-20:00
#stopover

www.Q21.at/frei-raum