Monika Bravo
dal 25/4/2002 al 8/6/2002
Segnalato da
25/4/2002
Monika Bravo
De Chiara Gallery, New York
A_Maze, invites the 'spectator' to step on a floor matrix where, by interacting, unconsciously becomes a 'player'. Unrelated sequences of personal travels will load every time the participant activates one of the 25 pressure switches embedded in each tile of the floor matrix, which modify randomly the result of the projected sequences.
A_Maze
De Chiara Gallery is pleased to announce
the opening of the solo show A_Maze, an
interactive video installation by New
York video artist Monika Bravo.
Monika Bravo utilizes imagery,
industrial materials and technology to
create illusions of recognizable
landscapes and/or environments that
examine the notion of space-time as a
measure of reality. Hers is an art of
seduction, illusion and introspection
where subject and representation
exchange and engage in conditions that
can allow the mind to convey from one
reality to the next without the limit of
boundaries.
A_Maze, invites the "spectator" to step
on a floor matrix where, by interacting,
unconsciously becomes a "player".
Unrelated sequences of personal travels
will load every time the participant
activates one of the 25 pressure
switches embedded in each tile of the
floor matrix, which modify randomly the
result of the projected sequences. The
spectator becomes the vessel challenging
the linearity and position of place and
time thus creating a labyrinthe
experience with Bravos evocative images
and the electronic sound by Flora &
Fauna; consequently, the artist and
player interact between the "actual" and
"registered" time.
In a separate room, fragments of stills
taken from the videos are transformed
into walking mats. On the mats, these
images are interwoven with words from
Borges poem ARS POETICA, written in the
form of labyrinths inspired by 17th
century manuscripts. On the walls, in an
arbitrary, decorative scheme, hang
abstract still frames -Itineraries- on
mirrored tiles. The viewer has the
sensation of entering into a
hyper-aesthetic set, where no detail has
been overlooked. The initial places,
from which the images were taken from,
are made into objects transforming the
space into another place.
Monika Bravo is a Colombian artist
living in NY. Her video installations
and films have been widely shown in such
places as The New Museum of Contemporary
Art, MOMA, Ocularis, Museo del Barrio,
the Lehman Gallery, Lehman College in
NYC and at the Tyler Gallery, Temple
University, Philadelphia.
Aboutstudio/Aboutcafe in Bangkok, Sala
RG in Caracas, Museo de las Americas in
San Juan Puerto Rico and at Ciocca Arte
Contemporanea in Milan. A_Maze has been
shown at mullerdechiara in Berlin and at
SITE Santa Fe in September 2002. She
was part of the last residency at the
WORLD VIEWS Studio Program (LMCC) at the
WTC and she was recently an
Artist-in-Residency at the Santa Fe Art
Institute in New Mexico.
A_Maze, was partly funded by the LMCC,
NYSCA (electronic media award through
Lehman Gallery), NYANA and SOLOLAB.
Image: Mat #1 (Multitude), 2001. Installation
view and floor mat, 48" x 48"
Opening Reception: Friday, April 26, 6
- 8 p.m.
--Gallery hours: Tuesday - Saturday
11:00-6:00 pm
DE CHIARA GALLERY,
521 West 26th St.,
New York City 10001
t.212.967.6007
f.212.967.1604