Luis Maly (b. 1991)

My research-based practice is engaged with the notions of national and cultural identity and physical and psychological violence. As a socially committed artist, I aim at revealing contemporary societal paradoxes and inequalities by means of installation, photography, video, sculpture and performance. My project-related work discusses contradictions such as the right to free travel in welfare states vs. the denial of migration for refugees; or the Western European promotion of peace vs. regarding children’s play with toy-weapons as harmless. Within my work, global, political, and social topics get mixed with my personal experiences. Biographical facts such as being born and raised in Greece, yet I possess only an Austrian passport; experiencing as a teenager the trivialization of political violence in Greece; and continuing to deny my Greek citizenship as I would otherwise be forced to subscribe to Greek military service play an important role throughout my practice.

Methodologically I build my practice on interdisciplinary collaborations between art and other academic fields such as psychology, philosophy, cultural studies and working professionals. Through my work, I would like to offer representational space for a multitude of perspectives. I carry out research-based projects employing the following method: I start with extensive field-research and on-site visits. Secondly, I interview and discuss the topic with experts and individuals who are professionally engaged with the chosen subject, resulting in a representational conceptual output.