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Tanya Bonakdar Gallery is pleased to present Bal茅 Literal, Laura Lima's third solo exhibition with the gallery, and the fourth iteration of Bal茅 Literal (Literal Ballet).

Bal茅 Literal is an exhibition in motion 鈥� objects and artworks dance through the space in a choreographed movement of the absurd. Hanging from a pulley system, the objects (or ballerinas) glide and bounce across the gallery, powered by the energy of a cyclist on a modified bike apparatus. Under the direction of the artist, the objects, lighting, musical score, support team, and pulley system function like a living organism: evolving, adapting, and moving in perfect synchrony.

Through a series of cut-out windows, viewers can peek backstage, where the ballerinas prepare and wait for their act. The sound and lighting theatrics, controlled simultaneously by the cyclist, create particular moods and atmospheres which transform the objects into living beings. Collaboration and communication from one body to another is at the center of Bal茅 Literal, and a continuous theme explored in Lima鈥檚 practice.

In the spirit of DADA poets and Julio Cort谩zar鈥檚  novel Hopscotch, in which the reader is advised to 鈥渉opscotch鈥� the chapters in any order, Lima鈥檚 鈥渄ancers鈥� are choreographed according to a linguistic logic, arranged and re-arranged into three primary syntaxes: solitary promenade, dialogue, or hyperbole. The corps de dance float and leap into these phrases, baring social, political and art historical references, and exposing the instability of symbols themselves. Alone, a sickle suggests the archetype of Death, dragging its shroud across the ground; in a dialogue with a hammer, it becomes a potent political emblem. Lima's Beckett-like gameplay highlights the culture that grows in and on every object 鈥� cascading grapes in a Caravaggio painting, the cult films of Ed Wood, Malevich鈥檚 suprematist 鈥淏lack Cross鈥�, LGBTQIAPN+ flag, the social sculpture of Joseph Beuys鈥� images and signs that are porous, vulnerable, and alive. The Bal茅 Literal allows the viewer to construct their own narratives from its riotous cadences, inviting interpretation and improvisation in a carnivalesque call-and-response.

Bal茅 Literal (Literal Ballet) was originally shown as a one-time event in the streets of Rio de Janeiro. Subsequently, it was shown in a larger and more continuous format at the Museu d鈥橝rt Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA) in 2023. In 2024, the artist presented a one-night event of the Bal茅 in the forest at Instituto Inhotim in Brazil. Each iteration is a unique and ever-changing collaboration with designers and composers to create a repertory of different compositions, which like all ballets, adapts to each new cast and staging.