She studied at Central Saint Martins School of Art and at Goldsmiths College in London. Her works have been presented at individual exhibitions in many countries and institutions, including Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago (2012), Walker Art Centre in Minneapolis (2011), Zachęta – National Gallery of Art in Warsaw (2011), Whitechapel Gallery in London (2010), Kunsthalle in Basel (2009), and Tate Britain in London (2007). Macuga’s works also appeared at documenta (13) exhibition (2012), at the 53rd Venice Biennale (2009), at the 5th Berlin Biennale (2008), and at Liverpool Biennale (2006). In 2008, the artist was nominated for prestigious Turner Award. She lives and works in London.
“Non-consensual Act (in Progress). First Treatment”, 2013
video, 21’42’’
In 2012, Goshka Macuga visited Afghan Film Archive in Kabul. The archive, which managed to survive at a time when the Taliban ruled the country, was struggling with financial problems and undergoing a digitisation process. The artist was interested in scraps of films removed during this process – due to their poor quality they turned out to be useless. Macuga decided to buy these blurry scenes through an Afghan broker. The footage she received from the Kabul archives, however, differed significantly from what she expected. The package did not contain the scraps of films she asked for. Instead she found 19 rolls of 35 millimetre tape with erotic scenes from Western and Afghan feature films. The strange transaction the artist took part in and the nature of the scenes, mostly presenting violence against women, prompted Macuga to analyse received footage and the whole event. Obtained fragments were used by the artist to create her own video where she tries to tell an alternative history of Afghanistan, investigate the intentions of those behind this unusual transaction, and examine the significance of violence and rape scenes in the broad context of East and West culture and religion.
