Antonia Wright’s solo exhibition You Make Me Sick: I Love You at Spinello Projects explores gender politics, bodily endurance and extreme emotions and actions in the public sphere through video, photography and sculpture.
Antonia Wright - Be
Using the space of Spinello Projects as well as neighboring Butter Gallery and Projektraum, all residing within the Gesamtkunstwerk building, the exhibition is presented based on the aforementioned themes, encompassing works created over the course of a decade.
The exhibition’s title You Make Me Sick: I Love You takes its inspiration from Wright’s dedication to aggressive and logistically dangerous actions and simultaneously also refers to the range of emotions she explores within each work.
Wright uses her body and mind as the principal tools in her process-oriented practice. Her performances are the essence of her art, whether in site-specific live installations or for video and photography, The conceptual and the performative aspects of Wright’s work take the viewer beyond a mere viewing experience, as, depending on the piece, the viewer is involved, at times involuntarily, in the creation of the art. Actions and reactions play an integral role in said creation process of the art as well as in the process of engaging with the final art work.
Antonia Wright - Lick of the Eye
Through Wright’s use of her body, often in the nude, the artist addresses gender politics, undermining boundaries and expressing herself freely. By exposing her body, biological markers of gender are rendered irrelevant and what remains is a human experience.
Many of the actions Wright undertakes in the process of art making are a test to her body and mind as she, again, pushes boundaries and explores the limits of her physical strength and endurance as well as her mental abilities and willpower. Additionally, the viewer’s limits are also tested as the performances may evoke strong feelings or even a physical reaction. As she jumps through glass, shattering it with the force behind her body, Wright overcomes mental and physical boundaries and risking injury. In other instances Wright licks a dirty floor, inserts ink into her eyes or rolls naked in the gutter.
Performances in the public sphere that incorporate other individual’s reactions to Wright’s acts are an important aspect of the artist’s work. As Wright displays extreme emotions, such as crying, in busy public spaces, bystanders who are unaware of the camera and the artistic aspect, react whether with compassion, embarrassment or ignorance. In many instances there, again, a physical reaction is involved as strangers hug the artist in an attempt to console her.
Antonia Wright - You Make Me Sick
Antonia Wright has a deep understanding and interest in the human conditions and emotions. She is not afraid to push barriers, accept and explore vulnerabilities and challenge social conventions. Her artistic choices and acts push others to react and then evoke yet another reaction from the viewer observing the initial act and reaction. These multi-layered examinations of humanity and our emotions then serve as visual metaphors that Wright infuses with a poetic undertone. Wright deliberately pushes her art into the public realm, blurring the boundaries between art and life.
Antonia Wright’s You Make Me Sick: I Love You runs through May 3 at Spinello Projects, 2930 NW 7th Ave, Miami.
