;)
Chitra Ganesh, “A Zebra Among Horses”; 2013; Archival lightjet print (edition of 3); 17 x 23 inches
Delving into emotions has been an important and fundamental task for me as a curator. With the personal as political approach that I have taken in most, if not all, of the exhibitions I have organized in the past, I have consistently been interested in some of the most emotive subjects including love, identity politics, sexuality, gender identity, religion, family, war, colonialism, and history. For instance, I always bring into my practice the fact of being raised as the “first American born” (that’s how my Filipino migrant farm-working mom and dad used to introduce me to others). Being a queer has also been an essential part of my cultural production, but not the end-all. Furthermore, as a product of the 1980s in California, I was, and still am, an avid fan of post-punk music and dance music until now. I still cry to The Smiths’ “I Know It’s Over” or find elation in Inner City’s “Follow Your Heart”. With this incomplete profile and a focused modus operandi combined with the introduction to the rasas (emotional states) for The Emo Show, I intentionally selected works for this group exhibition based on a variety of emotional responses as a curator.
1. Horror, Terror:
On a black wall, you will find the works by Chitra Ganesh and Larilyn Sanchez. The video Balikbayan (Homebound) by Sanchez literally hits home with that sickening feeling of loss, and maybe the death of someone close, wherein the body is being prepared to be sent back home to the Philippines. Ganesh’s female cyborg Indian protagonists are caught in medias res reflecting on the past and/or anticipating an uncertain future. In Prison of Childhood, a vulture with a piece of meat hanging from its beak is watching over and waiting on a bleeding character. These particular works remind me of my family history but dives deeper into my fear of death and claustrophobia.
2. Compassion, Tragedy:
On a grey wall, you will find a mixed-media painting by Ibrahim Ahmed III whose works make formal references to his Arabic heritage. This particular work follows a period in which the artist responded to the death of male students in Tahrir Square during the 2011 Egyptian Revolution with abstract portraits and then leading to works using a transfer process to apply Arabic script in reverse onto different surfaces. He is exploring his immigrant history, and in this new work, the literal language is gone. Instead the form and shapes and the actual remnants of colorful traditional Egyptian ceremonial tent material become the more salient elements he transfers onto the canvas.
3. Laughter, Mirth, Comedy:
On a white wall, Rafael T. Melendez’s playful, predominately text-based paintings on white surfaces and mixed-media sculpture poke fun at popular culture and the art world itself. “It’s asshole time” sits on a circular, wheeled canvas. “If it’s not rough it ain’t fun” is a reference to Lady Gaga and Rihanna’s songs that use similar post-feminist lyrics. “Perfect Lover”, an homage to Felix Gonzalez-Torres, selfishly screams about loneliness, while Richard Prince finds himself on the bottom of a pair of old raggedy Nike mid-tops.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Edwin Ramoran, born and raised in Palm Springs, California, is an independent curator based in New York, New York. His awards include The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts’ Curatorial Fellowship and the apexart Outbound Residency. Ramoran has previously worked at The Bronx Museum, Bronx Council on the Arts, and Aljira Center for Contemporary Art.
The Emo Show is on view through May 11, 2013