Monica Bonvicini ‘I do You’ evaluation: bondage, mirrors and feminist takes on masculine structure

Monica Bonvicini’s new exhibition ‘I do You’ on the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin is nothing in need of monumental—a scale that displays her observe at giant. Bonvicini is understood for her site-specific, architecturally transformative works, an element meaning though this exhibition options items from the Nineteen Nineties till as we speak, it isn’t fairly a retrospective. Moderately, it’s an set up consultant of her expansive oeuvre but additionally targeted on her modes of feminist and architectural inquiry, particularly tailor-made to the Mies van der Rohe-designed constructing. In actual fact, I discovered that the smallest work within the present—and the primary one encountered inside—really set the tone: an outdated TV monitor on the ground performs Hausfrau Swinging (1997), a video displaying a girl carrying nothing however a cardboard mannequin of a home over her head. Alone in an empty room, she bangs her head towards two white partitions. The sounds of the impression ring out with drive; she is without delay liberated and trapped inside a house. Her physique is perhaps free, however her head, maybe her ideas, are confined. 

The echoes of this girl’s battle and her combat towards the structure imposed on her sound all through the exhibition area—the focus of which is Higher Ground (2022), a useful platform that divides an area famend for its expansiveness, readability, and transparency into two ranges. The staircase going up is the work SCALE OF THINGS (to return) (2010); three sides are lined in reflective foil inscribed with quotes about structure (Doorways, 2022) and the phrase ‘want’ (Want, 2006); and on prime of the platform are sculptures like Bonded Eternmale (2002/2022), Chainswing Belts, and Chainswing Leather-based Spherical (each 2022), all of which invite viewers to relaxation. The ground is roofed with Breach of Décor (2020–22), a polyamide carpet printed with a whole lot of pictures of Bonvincini’s pants—starting from Adidas sweats to blue, white, and black denims—crumpled on the ground. The result’s a welcoming, interactive area that would, in concept, resemble a home inside. Nevertheless, the supplies used instantly evoke different associations, reworking any such notions into one thing extra paying homage to lounge areas in Berlin’s golf equipment: Bonded Eternmale is a set of 4 design chairs by Swiss designer Willy Guhl, however each is roofed in a chunk of black leather-based related with a metal ring. The Chainswings resemble hammocks however are constructed from stainless-steel chains. Leather-based accents dangle from one; free chains collide on the opposite. 

Furthermore, from this platform, the whole thing of the exhibition area will be seen. In a single far-away nook hangs Bent Glass (2022), comprising LED neon tubes strung tightly along with black leather-based, concurrently referencing the historically feminine craft of weaving and the historically masculine notions of industrialisation. Alongside three of the constructing’s glass partitions hangs You to Me (2022), a collection of 20 sculptures, each fabricated from two floor-to-ceiling chains with a black metal handcuff on both finish. Guests are inspired to lock themselves to the chains, and the principles stipulate they need to accomplish that for at least half-hour. Throughout this time, they will stand, sit, and look inside or out, however they’re trapped in place. Different guests, in the meantime, circle round them. Chaining oneself is without delay an act of meditation and submission, but when witnessed from the platform, the customer turns into an overseer: from right here, you’ll be able to watch everybody chained in place, watching themselves within the reflective foil or outdoors into freedom. It’s an unsettling feeling, particularly when backdropped by the sounds of the hausfrau struggling to flee. In any form of recreation of submission, there’s each a passive and an lively participant; on this exhibition, Bonvicini asks the viewer to be each. And in doing so, ‘I do You’ ensures {that a} customer’s perspective—in the direction of the area, themselves, and their environment—constantly adjustments.

Monica Bonvicini, ‘I Do You’, till 30 April 2023, Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin. smb.museum (opens in new tab)