Ul Pazniak
When the shit hits the fan
By participating in the exhibition you agree to be under the control of the artist.
Visual cruelty is one of the key elements building the matter of the exhibition. However, it is not presented directly – the installation presented to the audience uses the aesthetics of minimalism. It is economical in regards to its use of forms and textures; the artist curtails his means of expression, but one of the essential features is scale.
The simplicity of the object should be a moment between him and the audience that consists of a state of perfect and static equilibrium; to transform an imperfect reality through the presence of geometric shapes seeking an ideal form. But the exhibition is only seemingly passive and static — the geometric, synthetic elements disrupt the order of things and interfere with the comfort zone. It is through the monumentality of work that we begin to feel it as a whole, without division into fragments. The cyclical nature, repeatability of the elements of this work is a kind of visual rape of the eye — cruelty is contained in its construction.
The viewer is entered into in a field of the interaction of many threads, which accumulate in the form of the presented object. It emphasizes the density of the world in which we live. The essentialness and saturation in this context is dangerous; it exerts a constant pressure. The installation becomes a document of the relationship between the subject and the genealogy of forms, which have stemmed from the concept of brutality and arouse a disturbing sense of lack of control. This is also pointed out by the title of the exhibition, When the Shit Hits the Fan.
Lack of influence or control emphasizes the role of chance in the creative process. Some of the elements of the installation may remind of the results of coincidences, merging with, paradoxically, attention to an accurate, technical performance - the emergence of the exhibition was accompanied by numerous sketches and mock-ups.
The analysis of the practices serving discipline and oppression, as well as the schemes of tools for inflicting penalties, meant that the installation inevitably acquired a fetishist nature, which participates in the game of domination and submission. The social unit is entwined into this hierarchical structure. Here, we can also see a reference to contemporary pop culture, which – to satisfy its own needs – increasingly tames and assimilates elements associated with the culture of sadomasochism. That which is attractive and designed to serve pleasure to a specific form, is actually hiding a great complex significance.
In the artistic practice of Uladzimir Pazniak, we can observe a special ability to synthesize as well as for precision. Nevertheless, he is not focused on using just one medium; he utilizes various means, depending on the subject he is undertaking. The works created by him are a combination of multi-layered narrative and a number of references, while at the same time freeing art from the multitude of forms of contemporary visual language.
