Border Situations Group Exhibition
April 7 – 21, 2026 Budapest, Hungary Curated by Johanna Liber
LEAP – LEgAcy in Progress: (Re)Constructing European Narratives
and (De)colonising Discoursesesented
Work: The Capsule Installation by Mansour Forouzesh
The Capsule is a multi-layered installation exploring the relationship between memory, identity, and displacement through objects and photographic imagery. Centered on the suitcase as both a physical and symbolic container, the work reflects on what individuals carry when leaving home—not only necessities, but fragments of their own being. By juxtaposing everyday items with traces of human presence, the installation invites viewers to reconsider the emotional and existential weight of personal belongings. Engaging both material and imagined dimensions, The Capsule encourages audiences to reflect on what they would choose to carry, and what ultimately defines them in moments of departure.
In recent years, I have focused on the experiences of immigrants—those who leave their countries not for a temporary journey, but to build a life elsewhere. Through this ongoing research, I became interested in a fundamental distinction between traveling and migrating, a difference that is most clearly reflected in the contents of a suitcase.
A traveler’s suitcase typically contains practical and replaceable necessities: a toothbrush, a comb, and other everyday items. These objects serve immediate functions and can be acquired anywhere. In contrast, the suitcase of an immigrant carries something beyond utility.
It is not merely a container of belongings. Within it, alongside visible and functional items, there are objects that can be understood as extensions of the self—elements that metaphorically constitute part of one’s being. These objects are not essential for survival in a physical sense, yet they are crucial for enduring the condition of being away from home.
They exceed bureaucratic forms of identification. Rather than simply proving who someone is, they participate in shaping and maintaining that identity. Often small and materially insignificant, they carry a weight of memory, presence, and personal history that cannot be replaced or reproduced.
While a toothbrush can be purchased anywhere in the world, an object that holds an intimate connection to one’s past and sense of self cannot.
The Capsule installation emerges from this understanding. It focuses on objects that may appear ordinary, yet are irreducible in their meaning—items that carry an essential part of their owner’s identity. These objects embody something deeply human, shaping one’s being in subtle but significant ways. They carry an [in]visible meaning that exists between material presence and personal memory.
In this installation, I did not insist on specific objects, as I had initially encountered them during the process of my documentary work. Instead, I chose to place everyday items alongside traces of the human presence—suggestions of a hand, a leg, or a face that appear within the composition. Viewers are invited to imagine replacing these human elements with anything that matters to them—anything they would take if they had to leave their home without knowing whether they could ever return.
Border Situations is a group exhibition presented by Pro Progressione in Budapest, as part of the LEAP – LEgAcy in Progress: (Re)Constructing European Narratives and (De)colonising Discourses project. This is exhibition curated by Johanna Liber Bringing together international artists, the exhibition explores how the legacy of colonialism continues to shape contemporary social relations, even beyond former colonial powers. Through diverse artistic practices, the works examine borders not only as geographical divisions, but as forces embedded in everyday life, language, institutions, and systems of power. Addressing themes such as migration, identity, racism, and representation, the exhibition reveals how inequality and exclusion often operate within ordinary social structures.
Grounded in the social realities of Budapest, Border Situations creates a space for critical reflection, dialogue, and collective engagement, emphasizing solidarity as a practice of self-critique, responsibility, and active participation.
The combination of photographs, objects, lighting, and site-specific considerations gives The Capsule a spatial and conceptual depth that allows the viewer to immerse themselves in the ideas of the installation.
The exhibition was presented in a former bunker in Budapest—a space that once functioned as a coal storage facility and was later used as a shelter during times of crisis. Today, it operates as an art space. The historical weight of this environment transforms it into more than just a physical location; it becomes a multi-layered archival site, a place where things can be stored, concealed, and reinterpreted.
This context invites viewers to imagine what lies beyond what is immediately visible—something unseen, something invisible, yet fully present and meaningful. In this sense, the exhibition strongly resonates with the concept of [in]visible meaning in Mansour Forouzesh’s practice.
The work itself is composed of photographs and a central object, offering a glimpse into what remains hidden: the suitcase of immigrants, or of those who are compelled to leave their familiar surroundings in search of life elsewhere. The suitcase becomes more than a container of things; it acts as an extension of the self, bearing witness to personal histories and identities.
Suspended in the center of the room, the hanging suitcase embodies a sense of uncertainty and instability. The photographs surrounding it suggest what might exist within it. The presence of human elements in these images operates as a metaphor for memory, belonging, and the extension of the self—suggesting how a person, in moments of displacement, must compress parts of their identity into limited space.
In an adjacent room, the shadow of the suspended suitcase appears. This shadow introduces a second layer of interpretation: for some, it may evoke emptiness; for others, fullness. It raises questions rather than offering answers. Is it merely a shadow, or something more expansive? What is the role of this second space?
The relationship between the two rooms—one containing the physical installation, the other holding only its shadow—creates a dialogue between presence and absence, visibility and invisibility. Together, they suggest a tension between what is carried and what is left behind, between trace and body, between memory and its echo.
Border Situations
LEAP – LEgAcy in Progress: (Re)Constructing European Narratives and (De)colonising Discourses
Mária utca 1, Budapest
April 7-21, 2026,
Participating Artists
Cigánybűnözők kollektíva, Sarah Diefallah, El-Hassan Róza, Fabricius Anna, Mansour Forouzesh, Zahra (Saba) Fuladvand, Horváth Anita, Koltay Dorottya Szonja, Oláh Norbert, Oravecz Tímea Anita, François Piquet, Sárvári Regina
Curator
Liber Johanna
Curatorial Assistant
Osvay Dorottya Ilona
Light Design
Illés Andor Erazmus
Organized by
Pro Progressione
Co-funded by the European Union’s CERV (Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values) Programme