Urban His(s)tory

1 - 22 April 2017
BBA Gallery, Berlin

Curation & Exhibition Text: Nele Ouwens
Photography: Agnieszka Budek & Camila Berrio

Silvia Binda Heiserova explores concepts of symbolic masculine power, its historical contexts, mechanisms of its establishing, while rethinking patterns of social perception. With the aim to question the legitimacy of patriarchal power through its symbolic representations, Silvia experiments with fragmentation, hybridization of elements, colors and forms.

With her new works, Silvia intends to visualize an experience with the urban environment, which is based on a personal observation but goes beyond the subjective and approaches a universal feeling of discomfort. Whether it is a geometrically abstract vision of the gloomy nightly fragmented city, a decontextualized image of the exaggeratedly symmetrical bust, or a play with the color symbolism of restriction and danger.

Silvia perceives the urban space from a feminist perspective and depicts it as a neat system of imposed shapes and lines which encloses symbols and vestiges of a patriarchal society and its history - a story being told from a limited point of view, appearing as “the reality”. URBAN HI(S)STORY through the works of this exhibition appears as a story of winners, a story telling about a system that constantly reproduces itself, its patterns of representation, perception and communication.

Male busts, phallocentric shapes like obelisks and very restricted geometrical elements that dominate the urban space serve as the vocabulary of Silvias works. The systematic symbolic self-limitation by imposing strict rules in the use of elements and colors is integral to Silvia’s latest works. As a subtle attempt of liberation serves therefore her implementation of the modular concept: her compositions often consist of several canvas, that can be arranged in various ways.

The re-arranging of modules can be seen as an act of interference that points towards the possibility of change in time and space. Silvia is a slovakian artist based in Bratislava and Valencia (Spain). Silvia has strong ties to Berlin and she also has been located in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) for a work-stay in the recent past. Silvia works with acrylic paint and pigment transfer, her motives are thoughtfully composed in a process that combines visual inspiration like photography with theoretical impulses from the fields of gender studies, critical historiography and art history. The sex of public spaces, gendered urban elements and feminist views on architecture today are foundational concepts in her current practice.