Paradiisi fantoom

Grupinäitus „Paradiisi fantoom” vaatab kaasaegset seisundit, kus inimene kogeb ennast üha enam projektina, mida tuleb pidevalt arendada, täiustada ja ümber kujundada. Filosoof Byung-Chul Han on kirjeldanud tänapäeva inimest kui iseennast ekspluateerivat olendit, kelle kujuteldav abadus avaldub enesehalduse, kontrolli ja lõputu optimeerimise kaudu. Ambivalentsust, leina, kaotust, segadust või paigalseisu käsitletakse probleemidena, mis vajavad lahendamist, korrigeerimist või ületamist.

Ingmar Järve, Anna Mari Liivranna, Martin Lutsu, Angela Maasalu, Ivor Mikkeri, Liisa Nurkliku ja Johanna Ulfsaki teosed lähenevad sellele nähtusele käsitledes enesekujundamise, manosfääri, keha, iha, fantaasia ning süsteemse kontrolli suhteid.

Näituse pealkiri ja teemad on kaasa võetud Franco „Bifo” Berardi esseest, kus ta muuhulgas meenutab ka Brian de Palma filmi „Paradiisi fantoom”, ning käsitleb kujutlusi paremast, tervemast ja terviklikumast elust, mis jääb neoliberaalse korra all elavale inimesele alati kättesaamatuks. Paradiisi fantoom osutab sellele, kuidas eneseareng, -distsipliin, keha ja sotsiaalsed harjumused on seotud moraali, tootlikkuse ning varjatud allutamise vormidega.

Phantom of the Paradise

On Thursday, 4th of June at 6 pm a group exhibition “Phantom of the Paradise”, will open at Vaal Gallery. The exhibition will remain open until 4th of July, Tue–Fri 12–6 pm and Sat 12–4 pm.

The exhibition “Phantom of the Paradise” examines the contemporary condition in which the human beings increasingly experience themselves as a project that must be constantly developed, improved, and reshaped. Philosopher Byung-Chul Han has described the modern individual as a self-exploiting being whose imagined freedom manifests through self-management, control and endless optimization. Ambivalence, loss, mourning, confusion, or stillness are treated as problems that must be solved, corrected, or overcome.

The works by Ingmar Järve, Anna Mari Liivrand, Martin Luts, Angela Maasalu, Ivor Mikker, Liisa Nurklik, and Johanna Ulfsak approach this phenomenon by addressing the relationship between self-improvement, manosphere, body, desire, fantasy, and systemic control.

The title and themes of the exhibition are taken along from an essay by Franco "Bifo" Berardi, in which, among other things, he also recalls the film "The Phantom of Paradise" by Brian de Palma, and deals with the imaginations of a better, healthier and more holistic life that always remains inaccessible to a person living under the neoliberal order. The Phantom of Paradise points to how self-development, self-discipline, body and social habits relate to morality, productivity and hidden forms of subjugation.