 Cicciolina, 2001 lambda print, 50" x 50", ed. of 6 + 1 AP Tracey Rose The Project is pleased to announce an exhibition by Johannesburg-based artist Tracey Rose, May 5 - June 23, 2002. Rose's work, rooted in theatricality and performance, constructs highly racialized and sexualized narratives that explore the female experience in South Africa. Issues of body and identity intersect with those of race and politics, conceptualized and constructed within the artist's own body where actions of flagellation, penance, violence and catharsis are played out. For this exhibition, Rose presents two videos, "TKO" and "Ciao Bella". "TKO"orginally commissioned for ARTPACE, San Antonio, TX features rapidly shifting, pale, multilayered images of the nude artist sparring with a punching bag in which the cameras are embedded. The images are projected onto a translucent scrim, accompanied by an audio recording of guttural cries, grunts and moans - the audible expressions of the melee. The simultaneous shifting perspectives prevent the viewer from seeing a complete image of the artist as she ducks and weaves across screen, her punches - aimed at the viewer - becoming marks and gestures which build up a tight surface tension of anger and eroticism. In contrast to the abstracted mimimal visual quality of "TKO", "Ciao Bella" is a vivid torrent of carnivalesque imagery. The piece, a three-screen projected video recently seen at the Venice Biennale, shows different female caricatures (all portrayed by Rose) seated around a table, bringing to mind a contemporary version of Judy Chicago's "Dinner Party". The improvised wardrobe of industrial detritus recalls the lo-fi aesthetic of surrealist theatre and turns the dinner party inside out, showing female characters as crude stereotypes instead of heroines, implying Dada-esque hostility and burlesque vulgarity. Ausstellungsdauer: 5.5. - 23.6.2002 Gallery hours of operation are Wednesday through Sunday 12 pm - 6 pm. The Project Gallery 427 West 126th Street USA-New York, NY 10027 Tel: +1 212 662-8610 Fax: +1 212 662-2800 www.elproyecto.com |
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