[2023] THE POETICS OF BEAUTY WILL INEVITABLY RESORT TO THE MOST BASE PLEADINGS AND OTHER WILES IN ORDER TO SECURE ITS RELEASE

Tiona Nekkia McClodden
THE POETICS OF BEAUTY WILL INEVITABLY RESORT TO THE MOST BASE PLEADINGS AND OTHER WILES IN ORDER TO SECURE ITS RELEASE
26. May 2023 –13. Aug 2023
➔ Exhibition text written by Elena Filipovic (PDF)
➔ Press images (ZIP)
The exhibition is supported by LEAP, the Manizeh and Danny Rimer Collection and the Rennie Collection, Vancouver, with additional support from the Ernst und Olga Gubler-Hablützel Stiftung and Saint Laurent.
Photos: Philipp Hänger / Kunsthalle Basel

THRASHER [I-XVI], 2023

Hand-cut leather, hand-embossed, black dye

15 works, various dimensions

ROOM I

A MERCY I, 2023

Mild Steel, Black rustoleum paint, Saphir shoe polish, W40

196 x 158 x 25 cm

MIA_10 [Basel], 2023

HEAD LOSS, 2023

Mild Steel, Black rustoleum paint, Saphir shoe polish, W40

198 x 81 x 51 cm

APNEA, 2023

Air compressor, timed release

2 parts, 42 x 42 x 45 cm, 15 x 15 x 5 cm

HEAD LOSS, 2023

Mild Steel, Black rustoleum paint, Saphir shoe polish, W40

198 x 81 x 51 cm

APNEA, 2023

Air compressor, timed release

2 parts, 42 x 42 x 45 cm, 15 x 15 x 5 cm

A MERCY III, 2023

Mild Steel, Black rustoleum paint, Saphir shoe polish, W40

178 x 137 x 51 cm

THRASHER [I-XVI], 2023

Hand-cut leather, hand-embossed, black dye

15 works, various dimensions

A MERCY II, 2023

Mild Steel, Black rustoleum paint, Saphir shoe polish, W40

183 x 117 x 51 cm

A MERCY IV, 2023

Mild Steel, Black rustoleum paint, Saphir shoe polish, W40

185 x 112 x 46 cm

ROOM II

NEVER LET ME GO | I. such delicacy, 2023

Black jute rope, leather, Saphir shoe polish /

Schwarzes Juteseil, Leder, Saphir-Schuhcreme

122 x 61 x 5 cm

DIR | RETENUE, 2023

SD Video, BW, sound

10 min 48 sec

NEVER LET ME GO | V. irrevocable, 2023

Black jute rope, leather, Saphir shoe polish /

Schwarzes Juteseil, Leder, Saphir-Schuhcreme

122 x 61 x 5 cm

NEVER LET ME GO | IV. this relation at first filled, 2023

Black jute rope, leather, Saphir shoe polish /

Schwarzes Juteseil, Leder, Saphir-Schuhcreme

122 x 61 x 5 cm

NEVER LET ME GO | III. a visage, 2023

Black jute rope, leather, Saphir shoe polish /

Schwarzes Juteseil, Leder, Saphir-Schuhcreme

122 x 61 x 5 cm

NEVER LET ME GO | II. to refrain, 2023

Black jute rope, leather, Saphir shoe polish /

Schwarzes Juteseil, Leder, Saphir-Schuhcreme

122 x 61 x 5 cm

ROOM III

DOUBLE BIND, 2023

Video, color, sound / Video, Farbe, Ton

28 min 42 Sec.

DOUBLE BIND is a portrait of my consensual/nonconsensual relationship with a machine. I have obstructive sleep apnea, an issue with how air passes through my airway to reach my lungs. This work was the last one made for the exhibition. I wanted to create an image that challenged notions of power, mercy, control, submission, and consent. The mask I place on my head is connected to my CPAP machine, which is controlled by my doctor. The doctor adjusts the pressure of the airflow to allow me to breathe fully free of apnea. My doctor also sets the duration over which the machine increases the pressure once I am fully asleep. This is called a ramp. My ramping takes twenty minutes. The video is twenty-eight minutes. It takes me five to ten minutes to go to sleep, and my machine ramps up the pressure, anticipating a more troubled moment of sleep—the loss of consciousness where I also lose the ability to breathe properly. My machine then pushes air at such a force that it cuts through the obstruction. The video covers the time of my deep sleep cycle. The machine is a prescription and can be taken away if I do not use it nightly for at least four hours. This is what the doctor refers to as compliance. When I’m fully asleep, the machine starts its manipulation and can be adjusted without me being notified by my doctor, as it can be controlled remotely.