Presence and Absence Atefeh Farajolahzadeh (Chicago,IL)

From Atefeh: “Presence and Absence comprises video and light installations that express
the feeling of being in-between, the journey of transition, and the complex
mix of presence and absence in the context of migration and human rights
issues. By incorporating sound, light, and imagery, this work aims to create
a multi-sensory experience for viewers, inviting them to contemplate the
meaning of home, memory, and the personal and collective struggles
intertwined within these themes.”

KISS THE FLOOR  Nereida Patricia (Brooklyn,NY)

From Nereida: KISS THE FLOOR is a show that builds from TRAP DOOR, a recent performance project that ran at Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago in January 2023. TRAP DOOR was an experimental performance and musical score that began as a nonlinear inquiry into body politics and love in a climate of violence. KISS THE FLOOR follows the narrative of TRAP DOOR across painting, sculpture, and video to find portals to the fantastic in everyday space.

The exhibition centers around a monumental hopscotch sidewalk game formed in a spiral. This vortex mirrors itself in large-scale beaded relief wall works where the human body is transported into a black hole. Here bodies are malleable and time is unfixed. Nereida Patricia uses afro-futuristic technologies and Peruvian and Caribbean symbolism to imagine the space outside of systems of oppression. The human form, which passes through the black hole is seen abstracted in latex body cutouts, which are repurposed from fetishware fabric. A video shows Patricia playing hopscotch outside with music and spoken word accompaniment.