LISI RASKIN

Wildlife Refuge, Athens Biennial, Athens, 2009
Curator: Chus Martinez

Wildfire Refuge, Athens Biennial, 2009

Commissioned for the second edition of Athens Biennial, this work revisits recurring archetypes of the solitary protagonist taking refuge in a fortified shelter like a bunker, hideout, or tree fort portrayed in previous works like Jack Shack and (Remote Location) Observation Station. This aspect of the work is foregrounded by the presence of a singular desk and chair while other elements throughout the space take on a more explicitly defensive posture. Sticks wrapped with red duct tape and loose stones suggest improvised weapons reinforcing a sense of self-defense rather than mere observation. Notably the interior of this installation remained inaccessible to viewers who could only glimpse the inside through several holes in the exterior walls. Interior displays included research on war and history—specifically the fraught relationship between Greece and Turkey, reflecting Raskin's participation in both the Istanbul and Athens biennials that same summer. This research was presented via slide projector to situate the scene not in the early 2000s but in the mid-twentieth century. Exterior surfaces were painted with motifs referencing mountains and chain-link fencing. The structural wooden studs were formally echoed in the negative space left unpainted on the exterior walls. This effect was achieved by masking shapes with blue tape, painting within them, then removing the tape to reveal the natural wood beneath. The result created a formal continuity of line between different materialities and surfaces, anticipating Raskin's later preoccupation with the relationship between painting and frame in subsequent bodies of work.