Traditionally Unnurturing Nurture
Aika Akhmetova
GALLERY II
Aika Akhmetova, Hole in the Window, 2020, video still.
April 23 — May 23, 2021
“She used to be bewitched by the daughter of her mother, by her daughter of her mother, by her mother of her daughter, by the granddaughter of her grandma, but that’s enough.”
A.I.R. Gallery is pleased to announce Traditionally Unnurturing Nurture, a solo exhibition by 2020-2021 A.I.R. Fellow Aika Akhmetova. The exhibition troubles our understanding of home as a site of safety and comfort by situating the viewer within an interior in which everything functional is made dysfunctional and every surface rejects and distorts the body.
Touching upon themes of identity, tradition, dissociation, and abuse, Traditionally Unnurturing Nurture features a series of sculptural works made from objects found in a typical household: mirrors, window frames, bed slats, carpets. The functionality of these familiar objects, however, is purposefully twisted: the bathroom mirror is broken and partially transparent, revealing its intimate contents; the bathroom shag rug is infested with sunflower seed shells; the bedroom carpet is encrusted with acupressure spike mats (impossibly painful to lay on but wonderful for blood flow). But as Akhmetova attests, these violent modifications are done always “out of love.”
Mirrored and reflective surfaces feature prominently in the works. Within the exhibition, viewers catch themselves and others reflected in the trappings of home, forced to relive Lacan’s mirror stage by registering or failing to register their own reflection. The effect is a splintering of the self, a hyper awareness of appearance and presence. Traditionally Unnurturing Nurture extends its arms, welcoming its guests just close enough to give them a good slap—perhaps too out of love.
The gallery is open by appointment only. To book an appointment, click here.
Aika Akhmetova is a New York-based artist, originally from Almaty, Kazakhstan. Akhmetova studied Painting at Rhode Island School of Design and holds an MFA in Visual Arts from Columbia University. Akhmetova has exhibited in the US and Kazakhstan. Their work has been included in exhibitions Soft Windows, Public Swim, NY; In Response: We Fight to Build a Free World, Jewish Museum, NY; and Alone Together, Steve Turner, LA. Their work most recently has been published in The Archive, issue no. 68, “Intersectionality” by Leslie Lohman Museum (curated by Pamela Sneed) and Lines Inside by TSA_PDF (edited and compiled by Roni Aviv, Lizzy De Vita.)
View the Press Release here.
View Akhmetova’s page here.
Press
Roni Aviv, “Aika Akhmetova: Traditionally Unnurturing Nurture at A.I.R. Gallery,” Arte Fuse, May 19, 2021.
Photography: Sebastian Bach