Dániel Szalai: Novogen
Free admission
11, 13, & 14 October, 2018, 11am–7pm
12 October, 2018 from 11am–9pm
Location: Art Market Budapest, P103 booth – Millenáris D bulding (16 Kis Rókus Street, 1024 Budapest)
Curator: Emese Mucsi
At Art Market Budapest, Capa Center presents Novogen, a project by Dániel Szalai, winner of Best Portfolio Award at the Budapest Portfolio Review 2018, organized at the Capa Center.
In his project Novogen Dániel Szalai is focusing on a special breed of commercial layer, the Novogen White Light chicken, whose eggs are used in the production of human and veterinary pharmaceutical products such as medicines and vaccines. The chickens he photographed are almost entirely man manipulated creatures developed over the course of the last 60 years as a result of genetic interference, the development of biochemistry and of agricultural technology. With his project Novogen Dániel Szalai intend to give voice to questions and dilemmas regarding technology and man’s relation to nature, through an investigation into the industrialized farming.
The project consists of three main parts. The core is formed by a large scale photo installation which comprises 168 portraits of individual chickens. The installation is supplemented with a series of photographs documenting the environment of the production facilities where the chickens are held and the eggs are being produced. The final part consists of extracts from the management guide to the Novogen White Light and from the marketing material of the company which produces them. In his show specially adapted to the context of Art Market Szalai Dániel displays a selection of all three parts of the project and, in response to the context, evokes the atmosphere of commercial expos.
The Novogen project was inspired by the concept of the BredaPhoto festival’s academic competition program, ‘To Infinity and Beyond’, in which Dániel Szalai participated as a student of the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Budapest. The project is now on view at 2018 BredaPhoto festival. Szalai also won the possibility of participating at the 2018/2019 programme of PARALLEL European Photography Platform. In addition, Dániel Szalai won the Carte Blanche Award founded by Paris Photo, Picto Foundation and SNCF Gares & Connexions with Novogen, hence his large format prints are presented at the Gare du Nord train station in Paris between 4 October and 12 November 2018.
Budapest Portfolio Review 2018
Art Market Budapest 2018