Panteha Abareshi, SWEET FUTILITY (2023). Medical ephemera, latex, silicone, 30,48 x 15,24 cm. Courtesy the artist.
Panteha Abareshi, AN EXERCISE IN LOGIC (IF YOU PUT THE BODIES IN THE FIRE) (2023), VHS video, disabled body, performance, sound composition, 8’02”
__
In the exhibition INVALID PLEASURES at Kunsthall Trondheim, the artist Panteha Abareshi explores sexuality and sensuality in the context of disability, and how the disabled body, and mind, are regarded, including as fetish objects. The exhibition, which is Abareshi’s first solo exhibition in Norway and outside USA, shows new works created specifically for this occasion, including performance-based video works and sculptural pieces.
The exhibition's title, INVALID PLEASURES, is an extended play on the word “invalid”. While the term "invalid" refers to being worthless or illegitimate, it is also an outdated name for a disabled person. "Invalid" can also mean that something is forbidden, which, in combination with the word "pleasure", implies a kind of sensual taboo or fetish.
In their newly commissioned works presented in the exhibition, Panteha Abareshi investigates the disabled body as an object of fetishism and its representation in pornography and fetish materials. Collectively, the works question the able-bodied gaze as well as ideas of consent within power dynamics, not limited to the objectification found between the onlooker and the disabled body.
The exhibition is curated by Katrine Elise Agpalza Pedersen
__
Panteha Abareshi (b. 1999, Montreal, Quebec, Canada) lives and works in Los Angeles, California, USA. Solo exhibitions include This Is Not A Body at Hunter Shaw Fine Arts, Los Angeles (2022) and Tender Calamities at Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles (2021). Selected group exhibitions include MMK Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt (2022), Kunsthaus Zürich (2022), 1969 Gallery, New York (2022) and Shape Arts, London (2020). Abareshi has participated in presentations and talks at The Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (2020), and has received LANDxAIR artist residency in Los Angeles (2021). The artist has been featured in publications such as New York Times and the Los Angeles Times.
__
The curator would like to thank:
The Kunsthall team and Stefanie Hessler
The artist would like to thank:
The work in this exhibition would not be possible without the abounding love of my dearest friend, entrusted caregiver, and biggest champion - my partner, Brady.
Thank you for all you do every day to enable my practice and ensure my happiness. I love you. And thank you to my father, Behzad, who has loved me endlessly for all my years, and has never ceased to believe I could accomplish any and all things I set my mind to.
دوستت دارم
__
The exhibition is supported by the Fritt Ord Foundation.