Collection: Wasted Sex Wasteful Bodies

“How are love, power, and science intertwined in the constructions of nature in the late twentieth century? What may count as nature for late industrial people? What forms does love of nature take in particular historical contexts? For whom and at what cost? In what specific places, out of which social and intellectual histories, and with what tools is nature constructed as an object of erotic and intellectual desire? How do the terrible marks of gender and race enable and constrain love and knowledge in particular cultural traditions, including the modern natural sciences? Who may contest for what the body of nature will be.” - Donna Haraway, Primate Visions: Gender, Race, and Nature in the World of Modern Science, 1989

These questions emerged from studying the bodies and lives of primates, as a guide to historicize scientific thought and discuss popular culture. Following that thread, this exhibition features artists and writers who question how society filters what is “natural” from what is not.

Drawing and zine-making are utilized to create an alternate record. The use of these two types of media constructs a distinctive space that allows us to survey the human condition, one that illustrates how our bodies navigate the present conditions of our ecology.

Modern society tends to assign value to our humanity in relation to how we shape our bodies and expend our energy. We find ourselves putting our bodies to work, then to rest, in order to buy ourselves more time to go to work, as a means to preserve ourselves in hopes for a glorious reward of who knows what. We put on daytime faces and nighttime faces, split our email and twitter voices, overplay and downplay our (facial and bodily) features when deemed necessary. Yet the conditions remain.

Will we constantly stretch ourselves and put ourselves to the limit until we become paper-thin just to become desirable? When insects practice phragmosis, they utilize their specially modified body structures to block nest entrances in order to protect themselves, their kin, and their shelter from intruders. We have been accommodating ourselves to what the status quo sees as the natural course of life. Perhaps it is time to ask: How, what, and until when will we keep this up? For whom do we expend?

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Wasted Sex, Wasteful Bodies features artists and writers who question how society filters what is “natural” from what is not. It seeks to exhibit that drawing and zine-making, much like any other medium that exists, can be utilized to create an alternate record. The use of these two types of media constructs a distinctive space that allows us to survey the human condition, one that illustrates how our bodies navigate the present conditions of our ecology.

Participating Artists and Writers: Mano Gonzales, Victoria Yujuico Keet, Kiko Escora, Bryan Pollero, Assi Abogado, Anna Canlas, Karlo Vicente, Andi Osmeña, Tanya Villanueva, Sara Rivera, Paolo Lorenzo, Jao San Pedro

Exhibition curated by Nash Cruz