Holy Fools
1/9/2019-2/3/2019
A solo exhibition presented by
“RUBBER FACTORY is pleased to present a solo exhibition by Ondine Viñao, Holy Fools. Holy Fools is a nine channel video installation which probes Bruce Nauman's central ideas and devices from Clown Torture (1987) while exploring the trauma inherent to female youth.”
Bruce Nauman’s Clown Torture presents six video sequences starring a clown trapped in perpetual loops. Each iteration embodies a distinct archetype: the Emmett Kelly dumb clown, the French Baroque clown, the traditional show clown, and the jester. Nauman’s videos are loud and unsettling, creating discomfort in both subject and viewer, as the clown endures relentless, self-inflicted torment. In ‘Clown with Water Bucket’, for example, the clown repeatedly opens a door only to be doused by a bucket of water each time.
Holy Fools took shape through reflection with three female performers I work with closely, both personally and professionally. Through our collective journaling, they shared familiar stories of the female experience - sexual abuse, complex mother/daughter relationships, and the pressures of performing femininity. The clown became a way for us to revisit these experiences through a symbolic role that gave us distance from the events themselves.
In this project, I reexamine Nauman’s piece by reimagining the clown as a Holy Fool - someone who “feigns madness to reveal the madness of the world.” Just as the traditional Holy Fool offers insight through absurdity, we use the performative clown to confront what we’d rather avoid.
Press
Garage Magazine - February 2019
Ondine Viñao’s Holy Fools reviewed. Read it here
Office Magazine - January 2019
Ondine Viñao interviewed in discussion of Holy Fools exhibition. Read it here
Document Journal - January 2019
Ondine Viñao interviewed in discussion of Holy Fools exhibition. Read it here
Observer - January 2019
Ondine Viñao interviewed in discussion of Holy Fools exhibition. Read it here
ARTnews - January 2019
Ondine Viñao’s Holy Fools featured in Pictures at an Exhibition. Read it here
Bedford & Bowery - January 2019
Ondine Viñao‘s Holy Fools highlighted. Read it here
Something Curated - January 2019
Ondine Viñao‘s Holy Fools featured in 6 New York exhibits not to miss. Read it here
BlackBook - January 2019
Ondine Viñao interviewed in discussion of Holy Fools exhibition. Read it here