PUNTA Gallery, Sofia x POSTA Space, Sofia x Cable Depot, London
Ivan Moudov - Brad Downey
Punta Gallery and Posta Space, Sofia together with Cable Depot, London present the work of two artists, Brad Downey (US), and Ivan Moudov (Bulgaria), both confronting the symbols of power institutions intertwined in our everyday milieu. Their critical approaches present ironic, humorous interpretations of how we perceive governmental structures, emphasizing on the brittle balance between those in power and those subjected to it.
The selected editions consist of objects, video, and photographic documentation of several performances. In “Nightstick” Downey transforms the police baton into a flaccid version of itself.
In “Pretending to Be in Control” acrobats wearing full combat gear of the French security forces perform various acrobatic moves transforming into agents of playfulness and chaos. The line of chaos is also followed by Moudov in “14:13 Minutes Priority, 2005” – video documentation of a performance that took place in Weimar, Germany where he organised seven cars to drive in circles at
a key city roundabout, thus managing to block the traffic for all who tried to enter it.
In addition, both artists examine the symbolic and ideological manifestations of power – in the face of monuments. Downey’s edition “Melania” is a bronze miniature of a sculpture, originally created by a Slovenian artist with a chainsaw from a tree trunk. This was the world’s first public sculpture of the then American First Lady and reflects both the anti-immigrant policies of the 45th U.S. President and the paradox of his own wife’s immigrant back- ground. Moudov’s “Empeche-pipi” adapts already existing facilities for public restrictions – structures on the corners of buildings to prevent urination. Rendering it inefficient, the artist creates the ultimate object of prohibition, a monument of such.
