Monday 13 April 2020

FOUR OR FIVE EXERCISES OF ACEPHALIA

October 8th - November 9th, 2019
ÖktemAykut / Istanbul

Described as the “absence of the head” and laden with metaphors since the Ancient Greece, the notion of Acephalia functions both as a starting point and a frame for Albano’s new exhibition. Four or Five Exercises of Acephalia comprises four new installations and a new video work along with sketches by Italian sculptor Albano. Known for his representations of disrupted bodies in his sculptures and installations using synthetic materials such as polyester, polyurethane and paraffin, Albano presents his animated audiovisual installations for the first time in Turkey. Referring to Pasolıni’s Salo and the 120 Days of Sodoma visual imaginary and expressing his own conceptual repertoire in a multilayered way in his sketches and collages, Albano –like Pasolini– reveals how bodies are commodified by the power structures.
Setting off from various bodies that have lost their essential form or been modified, Albano attempts to get closer to the reality beyond what is seen. By embracing all the possible transformations and references of sculpture, the most physical and material expression of art, from Ancient Greece to Modernity, Late Capitalism to Post-Truth, the artist seeks the potential to decode the traditions of domination imposed on bodies. Through his sculptures, he tries to reveal the invisible violence towards live bodies and the permanent effects of hidden tyranny on human feelings and thoughts.