0209 Specters of Excess
Installation & Performance
Opening 03.10.2024
18:00 - 22:00
Performance
19:00-20:00
200CENT is proud to present Specters of Excess: The Ghosts of Contemporary Consumerism, a fascinating installation and performance by the artist Bárbara Prada. An Immersive Art Exhibition debates about the opulence and excesses of contemporary consumption, revealing the inherent contradictions of modern society.
In a multi-sensory experience involving sight, sound, smell, dance and taste, Prada's installation creates an intriguing environment through sculptural elements that address our evolution and devolution, pollution and socio-political conflicts that reshape our lives and consumption patterns. Rising food prices and the increasing luxury status of certain products are reflected in the exhibition's metal shelves, symbolizing static beauty in the midst of crisis.
Performance elements, featuring garments dyed with food pigments by artist Inês Neto dos Santos, are set set against an industrial backdrop and enhanced by sound design from Barcelona-based DJ Ari Arnia, create an evocative atmosphere. Dancers Josie Archer & Kosta Robert Bogoievski engage directly with the audience, using these tools to blur the boundaries between art, consumerism, and activism.
Barbara Prada's artistic journey is a homage to the enrichments we gain from migratory movements. These contributions, underscoring that rejecting marginalised voices is to deny the essence of our cultural identity. Her art honours the resilience and generosity of these communities, prompting a reevaluation of our shared history and interconnected present.
Born in Lima, Peru, and raised in Cadaqués, Catalunya, Barbara Prada is a multidisciplinary artist now based in Brussels, Belgium. Her work delves into the sociopolitical dynamics surrounding food, crafting objects and conditions in public spaces as tributes to marginalised voices.
Prada's artistic practice navigates the anthropology of food through sculpture and the architecture of public spaces—kitchens, cafes, supermarkets, and agoras. These environments, central to food exchange, are imbued with cultural richness, historically acting as democratic foundations where matriarchal influences have profoundly shaped our history with love and sustenance.
Celebrating the concept of the "foreigner," Prada uncovers and amplifies narratives of food migration. Through diverse media, she highlights stories of displacement, resilience, and intercultural exchange via dinner parties (symposia), interactive installations, and performances. Her projects, including The Recapitulation Space, The Memory Shop, and The Edible Library, are gastronomic monuments exploring the intricate ties between food, memory, and politics.
In her recent series of paintings and ceramics, Prada continues to investigate how food, culture, and identity—often perceived as ‘foreign’—have significantly influenced the dominant "First World" through waves of immigration and acts of generosity. Her work critiques entrenched nationalist ideologies, emphasising our interconnected reality and illustrating how many of today's culinary delights, such as the potato native to Peru, are gifts from marginalised communities and matriarchal figures.
Image by: Mario Leko, Prada at her studio in Level5, Brussels 2024
“Thanks to Ari Arnia for the soundtrack.
Thanks Inês Neto dos Santos for giving us her textiles dyed with natural patterns for the creation of the performers outfits, confectioned by Prada by using seaweed fabrics. Thanks to the performers: Ari Monge and Debby Blaz, whose performance will activate the space during the Vernissage.
Thanks to Philippe Van Damme for helping me with the wax models in Brussels
Thanks Enric Teixidó, a specialist in aluminum dyeing at the University of Barcelona, who has supported Prada to create the sculptural pieces in aluminum, which are a central part of the show.
And finally thanks 200CENT!”
- Bárbara Prada
We hope you can join us Thursday October 3rd for the opening of Specters of Excess, at 200CENT, located C/ Consell de Cent, 200, Barcelona. The performance will start at 19:00 and go until 20:00, for the opening only.
The exhibition will be open from 3-17th October during Manifesta15 in 200CENT, Barcelona, from 11-18h, monday-friday.