Brazilian artist Caetano Carvalho exhibits for the first time in Lebanon at the Workshop Gallery
More than ever, the Lebanese art scene is witnessing a rise of new initiatives and artistic happenings. Last night Workshop Gallery, a small but ambitious art space has invited a Brazilian contemporary artist, Caetano Carvalho to show his work "The Island and the Ants' Path", a solo exhibition mixing between performance, sound and technology, the installation aims to experiment with the creation of temporary associations among people and alternative, autonomous realities. The opening of the exhibition took place on October 23, in the presence of Caetano Carvalho and a number of important local artists and curators.
The exhibition documents the actions of four people dressed in white who are sent on a journey starting from the city centre and walking towards the south for eight hours. The four performers have a black box on their head, which makes them blind and unable to see their surroundings. They are all tied to each other with a rope. The last performer in the line has a black box with a small hole on it, which gives him the ability to see and thus direct the rest of the group. The positions of the performers shift throughout the action, so that all four have the chance to experience the role of the one who sees and leads the group.
"For the installation, the audio of each set of "shouting directions" represents a path cut into a different vinyl record", explained artist Caetano Carvalho."The equipment used to reproduce the documentation is also programmed to reenact the performance. The instructions become lost sounds which barely connect to the original action and only serve to direct us, blinded, in an imaginary walk", he added.
This is the Workshop Gallery's second hosted exhibition in its quest to encourage local and international emerging artists who are daring and innovative in their practice. The choice of a Brazilian artist comes as no surprise seeing the close cultural connections between the two countries.
When asked how he feels about exhibiting in Lebanon, Caetano replies with a smile: 'We've somehow always been connected. There was even a popular soap-opera based on the story of Lebanese immigration in Brazil. Those things make it feel natural, it almost feels like I'm going home, but still there's a feeling of novelty that makes it exciting, I'm super curious."
The exhibition will take place from October 23rd till December 10th, 2013.
