Ship of Fools
Ensemble
the project by Sekula which took place initially in the space on the 4th floor of the FotoMuseum where M HKA has been organising exhibitions since 2007 (May 28th 2010 - September 5th 2010). The project then travelled to the Sao Paulo Biennial and to other venues in Brasil. 'Ship of Fools' continues the artist’s investigation into the sea as a forgotten space that binds together shifting sites of production with markets and consumers around the world. It features the voyage of the Global Mariner, a ship that circumnavigated the globe between 1998 and 2000, carrying an exhibition detailing the conditions of workers in the shipping industry. Sekula’s portraits of seafarers, dock workers, port cities and their industrial hinterland register the affects of globalisation on people’s lives. By presenting this ensemble of work, the artist counters the myth that underpins neoliberal ideology of painless flows of goods and capital that constitute international trade. 'Ship of Fools' was the initial context of the first reiteration of the Dockers' Museum.
