Wilfried Lentz Rotterdam

Wilfried Lentz Rotterdam is very proud to present Liz Magic Laser’s mixed media installation:

Primal Speech

The opening takes place on Thursday September 7th, from 5–8pm and coincides with a solo show by Patricia Kaersenhout in the main gallery space.

Both exhibitions run until November 5th, 2017. The opening will be a combined celebration with A Tale of a Tub, Witte de With, TENT and AVL Mundo, with an afterparty at AVL Mundo.

The gallery is open Friday through Sunday from 1 – 6pm and by appointment. For further information and visuals, contact the gallery: office@wilfriedlentz.com or +31(0)104126459.

Click here to download press release as PDF
In her second solo show at the gallery, Laser constructs a futuristic version of a political “primal scream” room in our 4th floor space. The grey padded walls and therapeutic props, such as pillows and stuffed animals based on political party logos, are punched and embraced in Laser’s adaptation of Primal Therapy methods, which is shown in a video embedded in the wall.

For the video, Laser assembled a therapy group composed of actors with opposing political convictions about Brexit and the 2016 U.S. presidential election. She collaborated with certified professional life coach Valerie Bell, who is trained in Primal Therapy techniques, to “treat” the actors, encouraging them to revisit and conflate their personal histories with their political frustrations.

Developed by Arthur Janov in the 1970s, Primal Therapy was a radical approach that involved abreaction: the cathartic re-experiencing of a traumatic event. In this practice, the therapist coaches the patients to re-enact scenes from their pasts and free themselves from the neurotic repetition of unhealthy behaviours. Laser adapts this palliative method of clarifying emotional expression to process current political debates. The show’s concept elaborates on a theme central to Laser’s work: the appropriation of communication techniques and acting methods to maximize the impact of a public figure’s performance.

Liz Magic Laser (b. 1981, New York) has had recent solo exhibitions at: CAC Bretigny (FR) and Jupiter Artland in Edinburgh (UK), both in 2017; Kunstverein Göttingen (DE) in 2016; Mercer Union in Toronto (CA) in 2015; and the Westfälischer Kunstverein, Münster (DE) and Malmö Konsthall (SE) in 2013. Recent performances were at Le Mouvement in Biel (CH) and at The Kitchen and Performa 11, both in New York. Her work has also been exhibited at the Whitney in New York; Moscow Museum of Modern Art; the Biennial of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana (SL); and MoMA PS1.