Laxlan Petras, Gala Day (2014-18)

In 2018, I was commissioned by Berlin-based artist Laxlan Petras to write about his work Gala Day. I had written a review for frieze of the 2015 exhibition of the same name, held at West Space, Melbourne, which led to my collaboration with Petras on the more recent Städelschule, Frankfurt iteration of the work.



Description from Petras' website: "Gala Day (2018) explores the Yugoslavian civil wars as a subtext in the sport of football and immigration policy in Australia in the early 2000's. The work centres on the moment in May 2001, when footballer Bobby Despotovski became notorious for signing the tri-prsta. During 2014–15, Petras made appearances for Despotovski’s former clubs in the Belgrade zone league and Serbian premier division, reworking the narrative of Despotovski’s life."



To read the text in English and Serbian (translated by Sandra Stojanović), please follow the link:
http://www.laxlanpetras.com/wp-content/uploads/Eleanor_Ivory_Weber_%D0%B4%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%B0%D1%80_%D1%81%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%82%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8_%D1%87%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%B8_2017.pdf

To read the text in German (translated by Sonia Knop), please follow the link: http://www.laxlanpetras.com/wp-content/uploads/Gala-Tag-Defacto-Nummer-Eins-Deustch-tr.-Sonia-Knop-2018.pdf



Many thanks to Laxlan.