White Cuib
Opening: Friday 24 Nov, 7 pm
Visiting hours: 6 pm – 8 pm daily
November 24 – December 19
Sponsor: Colin Daily
The project made for White Cuib is an adaptation of the late star artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres’ candy installations, referencing directly the work dedicated to his friend Ross who died of AIDS in 1991, “Untitled” (Portrait of Ross in LA). It makes use, as in the case of Gonzalez-Torres, of a quantity of candy equal to an individual’s weight, here the artist’s, namely 75 kg (in Felix Gonzalez-Torres’ case it was about 79 kg, Ross’ ideal weight before the illness). The installation is complemented by a series of photographs of the artist’s body, taken by the artist himself as selfies.
Mihai Iepure-Górski’ installation, entitled “Take, eat! ”, reproduces the aesthetics of Felix Gonzalez-Torres’ famous works and builds upon it a concept that has the obvious purpose of revealing the mystery and/or secrets even that stand behind the original installations. Where originally there was only a suggestion of a pseudo-communion, (religiously) sharing the body of the deceased by means of consumption of the candy by the public and a pseudo-perpetuation of his life by continuous restoration of the original candy quantity by the organizers of the exhibition, in the case of Iepure-Górski everything becomes clear. The metaphor is removed and we are faced with a direct statement and a concise invitation to symbolically consume the artist’s body.
What is there to take out of this? Mihai Iepure-Górski’s installation goes beyond a typical deconstructive/ critical work and manifests itself in a brave, declarative manner. At the level of aesthetic experience, at the level of aesthetic state, you can discover by means of experience what it offers. What we certainly have here are 75 kg of free for the taking candy and some square meters of black and white photographs representing the body of a middle-aged artist who is striving to overcome his marginal status through a typical approach by someone of his status. Efficient or not, may the critics decide!
Take, eat…