ASSUME VIVID ASTRO FOCUS: ALTERAÇÕES VIVIDAS ABSOLUTAMENTE FANTASIOSAS . SESC AV. PAULISTA, SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL: SESC AV. PAULISTA, SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL
Past exhibition
Installation Views
Overview
avaf (assume vivid astro focus) has a peculiar place in the recent history of visual art in Brazil and worldwide. As an artist collective whose members vary according to its projects, their research is firmly rooted in the concept of experimentation and the resilience of the many queer communities. From their first experiments in the United States, carried out in the interior spaces of galleries and museums, the group went on to produce interventions in skating rinks as well as more recent ones that have included dancing tapestries. In these projects, avaf has maintained an artistic praxis based on the intersection between the idea of the surrounding space, the expressive use of color, and the affirmation of pleasure.
While their productions may use any media at all, they always essentially involve a relationship with the image that goes beyond vision. It is in our body – composed by fathomless shapes, identities, existential yearnings, delights and traumas – that the experiences suggested by avaf begin and end. Their works evoke the memory of that sensation when sweat trickles down our chins – whether it be from fear or pleasure.
alterações vividas absolutamente fantasiosas [absolutely fanciful lived transmutations] is a retrospective essay that takes avaf’s wallpapers as a central element. Present since their first projects, this manner of covering extensive surfaces is never repeated – using words, creating abstract patterns that dictate a rhythm, or even appropriating icons from pop culture, the large-scale images that take over the space of Sesc Paulista Avenue embrace the public. This occupation is driven by collages that refer to the development of digital technologies, which have enabled manipulations and graphic interventions on images since the collective's inception in 2001. Furthermore, exploring the notion of digital collage through video, a series of works from different phases of their career transforms sections of the exhibition into a unique blend of peep show and dance floor.
In this labyrinth, we are guided by a single action: becoming lost. May our bodies lose track of time, and, as the exhibition’s title suggests, may we leave Sesc creating new meanings for these four little letters – avaf – which in combination give rise to so much.
Raphael Fonseca
