Pedro Barateiro at P/////AKT

Artist: Pedro Barateiro

Exhibition title: My body, this paper, this fire (Oomph part II)

Venue: P/////AKT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Date: March 31 – May 12, 2019

Photography: Charlott Markus / all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and P/////AKT, Amsterdam

My body, this paper, this fire is the first solo exhibition of Pedro Barateiro in the Netherlands and departs from the artist’s ongoing investigation on the modes of production of narrative and image. More specifically, the exhibition reflects on the conditions of living and producing in the what is called the West under social and political systems maintained within a neoliberal logic.

The exhibition features several newly produced pieces as well as a brand new artist book, published in collaboration with P/////AKT and lending its title to the exhibition as an encompassing entry point. My body, this paper, this fire contains, among other things, the text that is presented as a sound installation in the space, creating subtle connections with and between the other works on display, specifically on the notion of how time is shaped by events and objects.

The sculpture Abismo is composed as a semblance of a quantum computer, and The Inverted Journey (Mirror) is a video work that reflects our intimate relationship with our mobile devices and technology. Both works are based on an investigation of lithium extraction in northern Portugal. The use of this chemical element, an alkali metal, can be found in many industries today, with a large presence on the production of batteries of cars, smartphones and other devices. It is also a chemical used in the treatment of a few psychological conditions such as bipolar disorder. The Inverted Journey is a comment on the contemporary condition of individuals and their growing lack of presence in society.

The publication My body, this paper, this fire is available at P/////AKT and online here: https://www.pakt.nu/my-body-this-paper-this-fire/

The exhibition is made possible thanks to the support of Ammodo, Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst, Mondriaan Fonds.

Pedro Barateiro (b. Almada, 1979) lives and works in Lisbon. Pedro Barateiro (b. Almada, 1979) lives and works in Lisbon. He had solo exhibitions at Netwerk, (Aalst); Basement Roma (Rome); Néon (Lyon); REDCAT (Los Angeles); Museu Colecção Berardo (Lisbon); Kettle’s Yard (Cambridge); Parkour (Lisbon); Kunsthalle Lissabon (Lisbon); Kunsthalle Basel; Lumiar Cité (Lisbon); Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Serralves (Porto); MARCO – Museo de Arte Contemporánea de Vigo; Pavilhão Branco – Museu da Cidade (Lisbon); Spike Island (Bristol).

His work has been included in exhibitions such as the 29th Bienal de São Paulo; 16th Sydney Biennale; 5th Berlin Biennale; Palais de Tokyo (Paris); Fondazione Guiliani (Rome); Firstsite (Colchester); ngbk (Berlin); M HKA (Antwerp); SESC Pompeia and Videobrasil (São Paulo); Crac Alsace (Altkirch); Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Serralves (Porto); Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian (Lisbon); ar/ge Kunst (Bolzano); Le Plateaux – Frac Île-de-France (Paris); Centro Galego de Arte Contemporânea (Santiago de Compostela).

His performances where presented at Centre Pompidou (Paris); Teatro Rivoli (Porto); ZHdK (Zurich); 98Weeks (Beirut); Théâtre de la Ville (Paris), L’école nationale supérieure des beaux-arts —ENSBA (Paris), Fondation Ricard (Paris); M HKA/ Cinema Zuid (Antwerp); Centro Cultural São Paulo (São Paulo) Galeria Vermelho (São Paulo); Teatro São Luiz (Lisbon), Teatro Praga (Lisbon).

Barateiro was one of the founding members of Parkour, an artist run space initiated with 7 other artists as part of Avenida 211 in Lisbon, and ran from 2012 to 2014. Among his many collaborations he edited, with Ricardo Valentim, the books Temporary Collaborations and ACTIVITY.

Pedro Barateiro, from left to right: My body, this paper, this fire, 2018; Abismo, 2019; The Inverted Journey (Mirror), 2019

Pedro Barateiro, from left to right: My body, this paper, this fire, 2018; Abismo, 2019

Pedro Barateiro, from left to right: My body, this paper, this fire, 2018; Abismo, 2019

Pedro Barateiro, My body, this paper, this fire, view of the installation, 2019

Pedro Barateiro, Abismo, 2019

Pedro Barateiro, Abismo, detail, 2019

Pedro Barateiro, My body, this paper, this fire, view of the installation, 2019

Pedro Barateiro, from left to right: The Inverted Journey (Mirror), 2019; My body, this paper, this fire, 2019

Pedro Barateiro, My body, this paper, this fire, 2019

Pedro Barateiro, My body, this paper, this fire, view of the installation, 2019

Pedro Barateiro, from left to right: The Inverted Journey (Mirror), 2019; My body, this paper, this fire, 2019

Pedro Barateiro, The Inverted Journey (Mirror), 2019

Pedro Barateiro, The Inverted Journey (Mirror), 2019