SELF WILL RUN RIOT

In Self-will Run Riot, Leonor Parda presents an installation with seven works from 2023. In an attempt to capture the euphoric moments preceding the melancholy of the morning after, it seems that something has happened – or is about to happen – in the environment built by the artist, an afterparty or a BDSM ritual where pleasure and violence meet and unveil their proximity.

Dualities of an unobvious and somewhat dangerous existence reflect the rebellion and freedom of a riot grrrl, a 90s feminist punk-rock movement. Between subversions and desires, pink and yellow dots vibrate in contrast to the metal of the industrial materials found and crafted by Leonor.

The works are shown in pairs. Precarious arrangements – interconnected by chains or cement – are transformed into suggestive machines. The wheels of Love Fools point to the motion of bodies. Handcuffs make an invitation to the spectator in Now I wanna be your doggy dog. Self-will Run Riot has a latent performativity, where almost every piece insinuates some kind of activation.

Leonor Parda uses an autobiographical narrative and explores the passionate conflicts of being the revolution itself. In Rockstar I & II, energy drinks pressed by industrial staples are another reference to the punk-rock universe, as are some of the titles of the works in the exhibition, with song names from this anti-system movement.

The iron plates on the walls are worn, with clear cracks, dents, scratches and wounds. Like a support to deflect sudden bouts of rage, they are joined by photographs from the artist’s archive. In Wish you hadn’t, blurry cuts and hints of flashes create a cloudy scene.

Traces of a shooting star night become relics. Cigarettes, medication and other tools to escape reality are essential anaesthetics. In the paradox between sweet and bitter, dark themes are wrapped in bright, fun packaging.

“Breaking down a barrier is an attractive thing in itself”[1]. Bindings and bars hold back the violences of desire and the urge to attach ourselves to immediate satisfaction. Romantic and political, Self-will Run Riot explores transgressions of those who do not want to abide by social expectations or fit into a system, but upset the status quo with the disruptive philosophy of satisfying one’s own wants.

Ana Grebler for Umbigo Magazine, May 2023