Harm Weistra & Eddi Bal: Damaged Goods

About

GALERIE8 is proud to present Damaged Goods, an exhibition of Harm Weistra that challenges and addresses issues such as identity, acceptance, tolerance and individuals' right to exist. The exhibition consists of Damaged Goods II, a three channel video installation. The exhibition also includes Hidden Hatred, a text-based wall piece, and five digital prints, based on the stills from the video. The main work in the exhibition, Damaged Goods II is a three-channel video installation by Harm Weistra and Eddi Bal that takes YouTube hate comments against the gay community as its starting point and addresses the suppression of minority groups that are forced between borders dictated as acceptable. By contrasting hate speech with the intimacy of two male dancers, the work aestheticizes hatred and invites the viewer to reflect on an individual's right to exist. Viewers are invited to literally take a position and view the main video work under accompanying speaker installations from which voice actors recite hate speech found online. Although the work focuses on the gay community, it has a broader relevance, addressing instances of suppression for those who deviate from what is considered the norm. Perceived tolerance as a precursor to subsequent methods of control, and forcing minority groups to live within social boundaries borders can also be seen as the major themes of the exhibition.