Rainer Ganahl:
Comme des Marxists

Comme des Marxists continues Austrian born New York based artist Rainer Ganahl’s long-term investigations into the relationships between daily life, culture, economic systems and political structures. The ongoing project, presented for the first time in the UK, is a contemporary analysis of how capitalism works, injecting humour into Ganahl’s connections between class struggle, politics, design, and consumerism. 

Creating connections between the industrial revolution, the on-going class struggles, tragedies such as the Rana Plaza clothing factories in Bangladesh in 2013, the production and consumption of luxury goods, and both fine art and fashion, Ganahl’s project challenges our understanding of the fashion system. 

Using a playful, humorous, yet thought provoking approach, the artist drew inspiration from sources as diverse as artists Kazimir Malevich, Blinky Palermo, Richard Serra, and Joseph Beuys; designer Karl Lagerfeld, fashion houses Comme des Garçons and Hermès, high street brands such as Benetton and Joe Fresh, and whistle blower Edward Snowden. 

The exhibition was part of the year-long celebration for the Centre for Sustainable Fashion ’s 10 year anniversary and LCF Arts Programme’s 2018 programme around sustainability held at Arcade East. 

Curated by Camilla Palestra in collaboration with Centre for Sustainable Fashion and commissioned by Ligaya Salazar. 

Image courtesy of the Fashion Space Gallery.