rebuild-00
Sept. 29, 2011 (6-9pm) Tomaz Hipólito, rebuild_00
Exhibition and performance curated by Luísa Especial
Emily Harvey Foundation: 537 Broadway 2nd floor (corner of Spring st.)
The Emily Harvey Foundation is pleased to present rebuild_00, a new body of work by Tomaz Hipólito realized in New York.
With a background in architecture, Tomaz Hipólito´s work has evolved in several mediums such as photography, video, installation, performance and drawing. His practice is centered on staging and examining the way we perceive relationships between individuals, objects and space. Hipólito frequently revisits motifs and themes he explores over time, a process that reflects the importance the artist gives to “excavation” as he proceeds in his thematic research.
The starting point for this body of work was to produce photographs of New York City´s skyscrapers. While the project was initially intended to be more architecturally driven, it developed into a manifold path. Whereas his journey departed from an observation of facades and skyline views, from a more distant point of view set on rooftops, he then shifted to a more intimate gaze. He became interested in transitional vacant interiors before impending renovation, interacting with the objects he found there and staged fictitious and parody-like experiences within these sites. Later he returned to the “outside”, but this time to examine exterior views from and on selected rooftops. Throughout this exploratory progression, the artist familiarized himself increasingly with this theme and began to feature himself in the images he was producing. His immersion as a character in the work points to an increasingly accentuated performative expression.
The exhibition at The Emily Harvey Foundation presents a range of work that reflects these transitions, materializing in several formats that convey distinctive and personal visions about the city. The city is thus re-constructed (or rebuilt) through various research attempts and experiments with an underlying humorous tone, spanning from the look of a newcomer into a progressively more familiarized individual.
The artist will also conduct a performance during this event.
Residency Unlimited is a non profit art residency program that explores innovative art residency formats and fosters customized residencies to support and advance the practices of local and international artists and curators. For more information please visit: www.residencyunlimited.org