One more kick
Ana Čigon
Video by Ana Čigon portrays failure and impossibility of rapture. The artist plays out extreme exertion wanting to break out of the boundaries of a compressed space by launching the entire force of her body into walls. ..more
Exhibition date: July 17 – August 17 2011.
DESIRED RESTRAINTS
The question ‘What do you really truly want in life?’ seems like an advertisement for another product, another best selling self-help DVD video series promoting complete control for the disoriented subject. In lustrous and slick setting a soothing voice tames an individual and instructs it how to design one’s lifestyle or career to become free of all the doubts about one’s own identity. The analogy between choice and freedom, as philosopher Renata Salecl has disclosed in her analysis of choice, is one of the deepest delusions of the late capitalism. Limitless choices do not liberate us, but rather make us more than anything else constantly on the brink of a mental break down. The pressure of choosing everything puts unbearable pressure on an individual who should not have been taken responsible for the state she/he is in (e.g. social class).
A resonance of this theory echoes in numerous gestures of video artists – we present a selection of four video performances – that create absurd situations to express a deep psychological angst. The brilliant satire of their works lies in their clear and simplified narrative that hits the very core of the problem by portraying one small banality of fabricated ideals for a perfectly designed life.
The video performances are defined by constant repetitions which bring about a sense of gloomy discomfort and aggressive self-destructive and irrational behavior. The performing artists seem disoriented or numb and above all anxious, because there seems to be no space outside of their state of mind, they are unable to break free from the constrains.
There is no suggestion on how to untangle their unpleasant situation, no instant gratification, only compulsory repetitive behavior.
- Ida Hiršenfelder
Ida Hiršenfelder (1977) is a critic for contemporary art, assistant of DIVA Station (Digital Video Archive) at SCCA, Centre for Contemporary Arts-Ljubljana. She collaborates with – Ljudmila – Ljubljana Digital Media Lab, and Aksioma – Institute for Contemporary Arts, and publishes texts at Radio Student, Dnevnik Daily, Art Worlds, Maska, and in exhibition catalogues.
It will be OK
Vesna Bukovec
The tendency to make a perfect choice to secure complete comfort in life produces extreme discomfort. The artist petting a stuffed animal portrays this contradiction of discomfort perfectly. ..more
Grant me my wish
Jasna Hribernik, Zmago Lenárdič, ..
‘Grant me my wish’ is one of three video installations entitled Tre desideri (Three Wishes) that were initially conceived for Passaggi a Nord – Ovest Festival in 1999, Biella, Italy. The installations were exhibited in prominent public spaces like the Communist Party headquarters, a Kindergarten and Town Hall. ..more
Wear V-VIII
Tomaž Furlan
Wear V-VIII is part of a continuous series of video performances set up in the artist’s studio. The artist explores the concepts of body and human behavior in society. ..more