Hussein Chalayan's Place to Passage was the second commission we curated in a series of art projects sponsored by the Honda F1 racing team. Based on his uncompromising vision and characteristically genre-defying practice, Chalayan created Place to Passage, a highly complex project that incorporated such diverse elements as film footage, conceptual animation by Neutral and a soundtrack by Jean-Paul Dessy. Exploring the implications of speed and technology on the contemporary psyche, Chalayan takes the viewer on an imagined journey from raw urban streets, through a post-industrial highway, to a dreamlike landscape and icy wilderness. During this project we managed a team of over 80 involved in fabrication, filming, animation, installation, music, press events and more.
Shortly after Place to Passage first toured, Chalayan was selected to represent Turkey at the 51st Venice Biennale (2005). The work was included in his major retrospective and has been shown at Proje4L, Istanbul (2004); Theatre du Nord, Lille (2004); Spazio Etoile, Rome (2004); Centre d'Art Contemporain, Geneva (2004); Centre Pompidou, Paris (2004); the ICA and Truman Brewery, London (2003); Centraal Museum, Utrecht (2005); Groninger Museum, Groningen (2005); Galerie Jesco von Puttkamer, Berlin (2005); and the Kuntsmuseum Wolfsburg, Germany (2005-6).
This commission was part of the Tribe Art Project for the Honda F1 team that we curated for many years. An art and lifestyle programme, Tribe Art provided an original and engaging way of showcasing the F1 team and their sponsor's commitment to creativity and innovation through an annual major international touring commission by international artists. Varying in scale, budget and venues (from museum and gallery partnerships to warehouses, railway stations, car parks, clubs and bars), the project was supported by a cutting edge international art and lifestyle travel website that maximised audiences and ensured the integrity of the artists' visions and the quality of the project were never compromised.