Artist: Bri Williams
Exhibition title: Mock Serenade
Venue: Dvir Gallery, Paris, France
Date: May 11 – July 13, 2023
Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and Dvir Gallery
Dvir Gallery is delighted to announce “Mock Serenade”, the first solo show with Dvir gallery of Bri Williams (United-States), on view from May 11 to July 13, 2023.
“The mocking serenade is a centuries old ritual described as a form of street theatre meant to humiliate and ridicule someone who had violated either a public or private social norm. It was carried out not by those seeking power over others, nor was it a protest; it was people living by their own rules. A mocking serenade stakes a claim to the use of humiliation, refusing to be numbed by it, using it instead, as a means to control one’s own cultural life.
I wish to reclaim the idea of mockery, the external and the internal, the mind games, the shame, the violence. What does it mean to celebrate failures and the journey that becomes of it? The moments of anger, fear, hopelessness, and then, acceptance. For all thoughts, dreams, and nightmares that come to surface in the mind could only be true if they are conditioned to be.
It can be loud, monstrous, and invasive. But also fruitful, alive, and delusional. It is thrilling to be strapped to a chair and paraded around naked. Here it all is. Flawed, but always beautiful.”
-Bri Williams
Bri Williams, Mock Serenade, 2023, exhibition view, Dvir Gallery, Paris
Bri Williams, Mock Serenade, 2023, exhibition view, Dvir Gallery, Paris
Bri Williams, Mock Serenade, 2023, exhibition view, Dvir Gallery, Paris
Bri Williams, Mock Serenade, 2023, exhibition view, Dvir Gallery, Paris
Bri Williams, Mock Serenade, 2023, exhibition view, Dvir Gallery, Paris
Bri Williams, Mock Serenade, 2023, exhibition view, Dvir Gallery, Paris
Bri Williams, Mock Serenade, 2023, exhibition view, Dvir Gallery, Paris
Bri Williams, Mock Serenade, 2023, exhibition view, Dvir Gallery, Paris
Bri Williams, Precipice II, 2023, soap, metal, 116 x 118.5 x 19.5 cm
Bri Williams, Restraint System, 2023, silicone, crickets, bedframe sheet, 133 x 72 x 10 cm
Bri Williams, Solar Plexus, 2023, soap, wax, spray paint, 48.5 x 36 x 7.5 cm
Bri Williams, Thick Skin, 2023, silicon, metal, sequin jacket, 73 x 34.5 x 10.5 cm
Bri Williams, Thick Skin, 2023, silicon, metal, sequin jacket, 73 x 34.5 x 10.5 cm
Bri Williams, Untitled, Target, 2023, roses, resin, store sign letter, soap, wood, 73 x 34.5 x 10.5 cm
Bri Williams, Untitled, Target, 2023, roses, resin, store sign letter, soap, wood, 73 x 34.5 x 10.5 cm
Bri Williams, Untitled, Target, 2023, roses, resin, store sign letter, soap, wood, 73 x 34.5 x 10.5 cm
Bri Williams, Fall, Slip, Stammer, 2023, roses, resin, wax, glass, mirror, soap, 198 x 122 x 3 cm
Bri Williams, Fall, Slip, Stammer, 2023, roses, resin, wax, glass, mirror, soap, 198 x 122 x 3 cm
Bri Williams, Fall, Slip, Stammer, 2023, roses, resin, wax, glass, mirror, soap, 198 x 122 x 3 cm
Bri Williams, Soft Bite, 2023, resin, soap, metal, ribbon, cardboard, garbage bag, 56.5 x 74 x 3 cm
Bri Williams, Soft Bite, 2023, resin, soap, metal, ribbon, cardboard, garbage bag, 56.5 x 74 x 3 cm
Bri Williams, A Person, 2023, resin, blood, handkerchief, wax, glass, flowers, 54 x 34 x 14,5 cm
Bri Williams, A Person, 2023, resin, blood, handkerchief, wax, glass, flowers, 54 x 34 x 14,5 cm
Bri Williams, A Person, 2023, resin, blood, handkerchief, wax, glass, flowers, 54 x 34 x 14,5 cm
Bri Williams, Surrender, 2023, resin, lace, cabinet, conch shells, silicone, 168 x 44.5 x 32 cm
Bri Williams, Surrender, 2023, resin, lace, cabinet, conch shells, silicone, 168 x 44.5 x 32 cm
Bri Williams, The floorboards shake and knees give out, 2021, soap, rust dyed quilt, earring parts, wood, nails, 73 x 88.5 x 1.5 cm
Bri Williams, Rapture, 2021, soap, raven wings, bookshelf, keys, belt, 87 x 73 x 32 cm
Bri Williams, Rapture, 2021, soap, raven wings, bookshelf, keys, belt, 87 x 73 x 32 cm
Bri Williams, Rapture, 2021, soap, raven wings, bookshelf, keys, belt, 87 x 73 x 32 cm
Bri Williams, Torso, 2018, stained soap, necklace, resin, 38.1 x 25.4 cm
Bri Williams, Pest Control, 2020, resin, soap, wax, sharpie, frame, 61 x 50.8 x 1.3 cm
Bri Williams, Rapunzel, 2021, nightgown, soap, chewing gum, keys, decorative grille, wooden box, 88 x 50 cm