Extended exhibition: ME/YOU, US/THEM

On show from 12 April 2024 until 26 July 2024 @droog

‘How to live together’ is a fundamental question of our human existence. Today we live in a reality more closely intertwined than ever, yet becoming more and more deeply divided. Not just because of the multitude of identities crowding our world, based on country, region, tribe, religion, culture, social class, or skin colour: not just because of ‘Us and Them’. Also because of ‘Me and You’: because we live in a world where people as individuals are increasingly unable to get along, from fighting their next-door neighbours to opposing anyone with a different opinion or background to the growing fear of strangers – of anyone who is other.

In this world, characterised by an unprecedented level of global connectivity, governments are reinforcing borders and building new walls and fences, while social and economic inequalities persist and grow. The exhibition ‘ME/YOU, US/THEM’ presents the work of artists, designers, and architects who explore the intricate knots of identity, the multitude of coexisting identities, the concepts of ‘me’ and ‘you’, ‘us’ and ‘them’, and how we do, or do not, get along.

The exhibition examines the issue of ‘how to live together’ on a scale varying from the border politics of nation-states to the interactions of individuals. By valuing and embracing diversity, societies can unlock their potential for innovation, creativity, and social progress. Ultimately, it all starts with our willingness, or unwillingness, to live together in a world full of contradictions.

Truly living together involves recognizing that diversity is not merely to be tolerated, but to be celebrated.

Twenty international artists, designers and architects explore the notion of ME/YOU, US/THEM on various scales: from national border politics to migratory patterns in the natural world, and daily interactions between individuals. Danae Stratou’s installation ‘Cut 7’ documents the lives of people residing in regions marked by dividing lines, such as the Green Line in Cyprus and the border between Mexico and the USA. Shilpa Gupta’s flag made out of taped words reminds us that the sky has no borders, as does Desiree Dolron’s photographic tracking of the Monarch butterfly’s flight routes. Efrat Zehavi is slowly and surely building a body of work portraying a variety of individuals, sculpting their heads in clay while having a conversation with them.

Artworks by: Ariane Loze (BEL), Aukje Dekker & Sexyland (NLD), CATPC (DRC), Danae Stratou (GRC), Desirée Dolron (NLD), Edith Dekyndt (BEL), Efrat Zehavi (NLD), Erik Kessels & Droog Design with Hans van der Meer and Helmut Smits (NLD), Francis Alÿs (BEL/MEX), Garry Davis (USA), Heather Dewey-Hagborg (USA), JR (FRA), Marije Vogelzang (NLD), Martin Creed (GBR), Rael San Fratello architects (USA), Shilpa Gupta (IND), Sunny Dolat & The Nest Collective (KEN), Tania El Khoury (LBN), Theo Deutinger (AUT).