I am currently showing an installation at 601 Artspace in a show titled In Absentia, curated by Eliana Blechman. It opens on February 10th and runs until April 14th.
Curator’s Statement
We hold stories in our bodies, leaving traces of ourselves and our histories as we move through spaces. Those remnants left behind can be loud, infiltrating a room, or they can be soft, subtle, nearly imperceptible.
In Absentia focuses on these spatial traces, exploring nontraditional modes of portraiture through the conspicuous absence of the body. The artists in this exhibition use bodily impressions, remnants, and residues to explore personal and social themes of loss and mourning, historical memory, unseen labor, and desire. In removing the physical body, the artists emphasize experiences and contexts that are traditionally overlooked, inviting the viewer to consider the remaining empty spaces or materials more closely. Despite removing corporeality from their work, the artists’ bodies become even more present.
It is not by design, but noteworthy, that all of the artists in this exhibition are women. Ongoing debates over women’s bodily autonomy surface in many of the works, as does the goal of preserving and protecting histories and culture. These artists are storytellers, memory keepers, and caretakers of personal and public knowledge.
Ani Liu’s Untitled (pumping at work) circulates a facsimile of the volume of breastmilk produced by the artist during one week through a series of clear, coiled tubes that snake on and around the gallery floor and front desk. Patented in 1854, the breast pump can be considered a liberatory device, empowering women to reenter the workforce postpartum. It can also, however, be seen to create an obligation for new mothers to return to a capitalist industry that devalues the already considerable labor involved in caretaking. In displaying the milk produced by the artist disembodied from its source, Liu renders visible the often invisible labors of reproduction and motherhood. In Untitled (pumping at work) the labor of caretaking infringes on the labor of the office, overtaking the gallery desk and demanding recognition.
I am showing alongside these wonderful artists: Juliana Cerqueira Leite, Priscilla Dobler-Dzul, Gyun Hur, Joiri Minaya, Barb Smith
You can see some images from the show below.
