Presence & Absence at The Barn Light East
Performance by Farhad Bahram, Audio work by Lindsey Allgood
“The Suicidal Sysiphus” by Farhad Bahram
Farhad Bahram’s statement:
“In the flows of current globalized climate, in which cultural signs are floating aimlessly without being anchored by any history or reality, investigating one’s identity by returning to its cultural roots seems no longer possible. All that is left is the assignment of our own identity in relation to the leftovers of culture and our lived experience. Considering this condition, the determination of the self has obsessively become the center piece in my recent works. Here I am hoping to explore my identity through an absurd cycle of negation, without forcing myself into a particular pattern of morality or nature. This exploration entails various cultural objects and signs that are both irreplaceable and provisional. They are supposed to exhaust the eternal recurrence of the self, and the identity that is staggering between the presence and absence.”
“One Red Dress” audio work by Lindsey Allgood
(actual piece not available)
Lindey Allgood’s statement:
“Time and lived experiences can alter our memories. Do we question their precision? Do we trust them? Through spoken word, this performance gives listeners an auditory peek into one or many individuals’ subconscious thoughts surrounding memories of a single object: a red dress. The audio explores how fragments of personal stories can intertwine to create new, often shifting and veiled, realities. Where, how, and why do our memories meet another’s, and why at particular junctures? When we share a named object and event, which memory is accurate (is there true accuracy?) and how does this (in)accuracy affect our personal narratives and truths over time?”
Presence & Absence featured both pieces by these artists at our opening on March 3rd, 2017 at the Barn Light East (now Slightly Cafe), and documentation of the works were on view all month.