Ausstellung im Rahmen von curated by_ vienna 09
Barthelemy Toguo, the well-known multifaceted artist from
The Cameroons (born 1967), has chosen as a theme for his
second Viennese exhibition: "The AIDS issue cannot be solved
thanks to the distribution of condoms." Benedict XVIth
The visitors are invited to participate in a discussion on the
subject of AIDS apropos the recent declarations made
during his March 2009 visit to the Cameroons by pope
Benedict concerning the use of condoms.
Immediately on entering the gallery you are taken: your
eyes fall upon a "porn movie", a documentary filmed on the
main market of Bafoussam in the Grasslands and you can
hear the local people freely discussing on the subject. It's a
fireworks of pros and cons...
The main exhibition room has been transformed into a
hospital-ward, the visitors stumbles on beds and mosquito
nets as if he had come to see the sick. In spite of the apparent
cosyness there is a pervading, ominous atmosphere.
Religious dignitaries whose portraits hang on the walls
contemplate the scene, they obviously have already taken
sides.
Drawings and collages by the artist depicting graphic sex
show how derelict the Church is, evoking the exclusion
of women from priesthood by the Catholic Church, the
prohibition of marriage for the priests, of condoms or gay
marriage. The Church is dying, the Church has become
obsolescent.
In the basement of the gallery, Barthelemy Toguo shows
video films on the subject of the confrontation of two
elements, water and fire. |
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