Untitled (GUT/1361), 2008

Last Thursday, ArtObserved were on site at Team Gallery for the opening of an exhibition of new work by twin brothers and artistic collaborators, Gert and Uwe Tobias. The title of the exhibition, “Come and See Before the Tourists Will Do – The Mystery of Transylvania,” was originally used by the brothers in 2004 to describe a body of works that acted as mock-advertising for low-budget horror movies set in their native Transylvania. Initially it was a reaction the Romanian governments proposal to build a “Dracula Park” in order to encourage tourism in the area. In this rendition of the series they chose a number of European vampire film titles from which to construct their lively woodcut “posters” around. The works are very much informed by folklore and regional mythologies and thus are concerned with the construction of cultural identity.

Artist Uwe Tobias (right) at the opening of Come and See Before the Tourists Do – The Mystery of Transylvania at Team Gallery on February 11, 2010. Photographs by Oskar Proctor.

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