Presence & Absence at The Barn Light East
On March 3rd, 2017, ECA will present “Presence & Absence” – a live performance by Eugene-based artist Farhad Bahram, and an sound piece by Lindsey Allgood.
Farhad Bahram received an MFA in photography from University of Oregon in 2015. His work revolves around the idea of ‘affirmative destruction’ and negating the peripheral relationship between medium and message. He unpacks his installations and performances through presenting texts that are unable to convey their intended message.
For our Friday, March 3rd opening, Bahram will perform a new work titled “The Suicidal Sysiphus.”
From his 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.”
Lindsey Allgood received her MFA in 2013 from the Art, Technology, and Culture program at the University of Oklahoma. Until recently she was was living and teaching in Roseburg, Oregon. As we were planning this exhibition she was invited to become faculty at University of California at Irvine this past January. She altered her live performance into a sound recording entitled “One Red Dress – It just touched the floor / She tore the hem on a nail / It fell just at my thigh.”
From her 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 features work by both these artists at our opening on March 3rd at the Barn Light East. Doors open at 6pm. Starting at 7pm we will present Lindsey Allgood’s sound piece, followed by Farhad Barham’s live performance.
Video, audio and photography of Friday’s event will be on view all month at The Barn Light East.
farhadbahram.com
lindseyallgood.net
“Presence & Absence”
Friday, March 3rd
Doors at 6pm, Performances at 7pm
The Barn Light East
546 E 8th Ave
Eugene, OR
97401