Race for the Surface, solo show, at Beirut Art Center
December 9 2021 - April 29 2022
PVC, silicone, plexiglass, resin, steel, fiberglass, polyester fabric, water, coloring, pumps, rubber, and audio visual film
Excerpt of text by Haig Aivazian. For full text and information about exhibition, click here
Even in the act of restoring the natural world, the Human reveals His underlying desire for domination. Closed systems designed as controlled replicas of the world to save the world, become erotic power plays with nature, testing how long to keep it in a chokehold before finally allowing it the “perfect” gasp of air. The future is lured in by CGI renderings of sustainable living colonies, closed carnal loops, pulsating sexy electric blue in their veins, to inject an optimal life into life.
These dream designs for a sustainable planet projected in the post-organic era, still use the crutch of nature in their visuals, staging the scene across lush valleys and mountains. But being a part of an endless metabolic cycle, it turns out, is not so much an invitation to relax in a picturesque resort, rather it is a strictly scheduled model of governance for all landscapes and organisms, yourself included, to churn at the desired speed.
