The New York Times – Art Review
July 24, 2015
Yu Lik Wai: It’s A Bright Guilty World
August 8, 2015Presented by WhiteBox and CAPA (Center for Asia Pacific Affairs)
Curated by Fion Gunn and Juan Puntes
September 3 – October 4, 2015
Sept 3 @ 6-8PM | Preview: Meet the Artists
Sept 9 @ 6-8PM | Opening Reception: Meet the Curators + Performances
Thursday, Oct 1 @ 7-9PM | Panel Discussion: The Act of Doing hosted by Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art – Brooklyn Museum
Introduction by Marjorie Martay, founder of Art W and council member of the Elizabeth A . Sackler Center for Feminist Art
Co-moderated by Fion Gunn and Anita Glesta
Panelists: Eleanor Heartney, Luisa Valenzuela, and Shirin Neshat
Participating Artists:
Andi Arnovitz | A.N.V.I.L. Art Collective | Niamh Cunningham | Regina José Galindo | Anita Glesta | Fion Gunn | Jusuf Hadžifejzović | Nermine Hammam | Šejla Kamerić | Teresa Margolles Elahe Massumi | Susana Pilar Delahante Matienzo | Chen Mei-Tsen | Chen Qingqing | Atsuko Nakamura | Gail Ritchie | Yoshiko Shimada | Xin Song | Michael Lisle-Taylor Jelena Tomasevic | Ma Yanling | Gao Yuan
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Intimate Transgressions is a multimedia exhibition of twenty-two artists from around the world responding to the challenging theme of sexual violence as a tactic of terror. The exhibition is presented by WhiteBox and CAPA. The artworks on display react to the transnational issue of violence against women during times of conflict from both a historical and contemporary perspective. As a starting point for Intimate Transgressions, the disturbing situation of the ‘Comfort Women’ during and after WWII is also the project’s central highlight. This open-ended investigation includes performance, installations, and a series of concurrent talks and workshops. The premiere at WhiteBox opens the Intimate Transgressions word tour followed by Beijing on October 25 th , 2015.
The exhibition was conceived by international artist curator Fion Gunn in association with Juan Puntes, WhiteBox Artistic Director. Commenting on the need for such an exhibition, Fion Gunn said:
“The opening of Intimate Transgressions on September 3rd, 2015 marks the seventieth anniversary of Japan signing the armistice with the allied forces during World War II. Researching this historic period and uncovering the disturbing plight of the so called ‘Comfort Women’ made me realize that sexual violence against women during periods of war continues to this day and it is an outrage which is not being eradicated. With Intimate Transgressions, the issue has been raised and dialogue initiated as part of a movement to protect women from such crimes”
The artists involved in the exhibition come from as far afield as China, Egypt, Cuba, Mexico, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States. The work is diverse and covers a range of media and styles from drawing and print to installation and video. The cohesion of the exhibition is its desire to initiate a dialogue about conflict and violence against women from a global and shared oppositional stance
About “Comfort Women”:
These women principally from Korea, China, the Philippines, Taiwan and other countries occupied by the Japanese, were abducted, forced into sexual slavery and treated with such extreme brutality, that most did not survive the war. Following the end of hostilities their plight was side-lined, no one was held accountable for their sufferings and their story was wiped from Japanese history books by those in power. While the exhibition investigates individual and collective accountability, it is not intended as a documentary of horrors. Rather it will speak of loss and resilience, of sorrow and our shared humanity.
Educational Film Links on Comfort Women:
Arirang Special “Comfort Women” One Last Cry by Taeyeol Park
‘Comfort Women’ by KRON TV reportage
‘An Uncomfortable Truth’ an fiction film by Jan Ruff O’Herne
Comfort Woman-Wian Bu by James Bang
Press
Sinovision English Channel, Intimate Transgressions: Investigating Sexual Violence as a Weapon of War
Women’s Voices for Change, Art and Awareness: the Making of ‘Intimate Transgressions’ – Part 1, by Suzanne Russell
Women’s Voices for Change, Art and Awareness: the Making of ‘Intimate Transgressions’ – Part 2, by Suzanne Russell
Contact : press@whiteboxny.org
Intimate Transgressions is supported by CAPA (Center for Asia Pacific Affairs), the Irish Consulate in New York and Arts Council of Northern Ireland.
The programs of WhiteBox are made possible in part by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and New York State Council for the arts.
