The title of the exhibition comes from the Greek etymon of the word 'paradox,' a contradiction that refers to the concept of the series of works presented, in which the artist reflects on crucial social issues with a veil of aesthetic tenderness. Part of the body of work is represented by oil paintings and printed plates, featuring the diving birds Sule together with the species of the flying fish, the inspiration comes from the repertoire of images personally archived by the artist from documentaries of the 1980s. The interest in the two animal species stems from their defiance of the elements that naturally host their habitats: the Suleys dive toward the sea like rockets from the sky, the fish fly through the air in a desperate movement to escape a hostile environment and predators. Both represent a metaphor of forced adaptation, dictated by survival, and they are compared to humanity's behavior during times of conflict. Just as in a battlefield, the exhibition space is demarcated by a barbed wire installation that indicates a compulsory path of visitation, along which narrow coils are scattered in tensioned scuplture and become additional martial symbols within the exhibition. In contrast to the hostile, bounded environment, Parà Dóxa's body of work is presented in muted colors of pinkish and blue hues that act as 'filters' or visual devices applied to the two- dimensional works and to the wire installation, making the exhibition seemingly alienating and drawing the viewer into a reflection on the dissonances of the conflicts of natural and human life.
FABIO WEIK 