About
firstsite presents a major new exhibition by the New Zealand-born, Berlin-based artist Simon Denny. The Personal Effects of Kim Dotcom is the first solo exhibition of Denny's work in the UK, presented in collaboration with the Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien (MUMOK) in Vienna.
Denny's project is inspired by the widely reported rise and fall of the New Zealand-based Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom. Dotcom was the subject of recent FBI investigations on charges of criminal copyright infringement in relation to his popular file-sharing platform âMegaupload'. In an armed raid on his mansion near Auckland in January 2012, authorities controversially seized possessions including $175 million USD in cash, 22 luxury vehicles, 60 computer servers and numerous works of art. For his exhibition at firstsite, Denny has assembled copies, imitations and approximations of these objects to form a large-scale sculptural visualisation of the inventory of seized property. Drawing on recent political events and wider debates concerning public access to data, Denny's project highlights discussions around material and immaterial value, property and ownership in the digital age.
A publication edited by MUMOK curator Matthias Michalka will be available during the exhibition.
The exhibition has been generously supported by Cooper Colchester MINI; Devon Works, Los Angeles; GS Jet Tech, Woodford; Hästens Flagship Store, London; Stephen and Sigrid Kirk; Lakeside Harley-Davidson, West Thurrock and Whitebarn PC Services, Colchester.
Simon Denny (b. Auckland, 1982) has had solo exhibitions at the Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien (MUMOK), Vienna; Kunstverein Munich (2013); Aspen Art Museum, Colorado; Westfälischer Kunstverein, Münster (2012); Neuer Aachener Kunstverein, Aachen (2011); Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, Missouri; Halle für Kunst, Lüneberg; Artspace, Sydney and Landings Project Space, Vestfossen (2010). His work has been presented in major survey exhibitions, including the 55th Venice Biennale (2013); 16th Biennale of Sydney (2008) and 1st Brussels Biennial (2008). In 2012 he was the recipient of the Baloise Art Prize at Art Basel 43, and will represent New Zealand at the 56th Venice Biennale in 2015. He lives and works in Berlin.
