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Alejandro Vidal
WHEN IT RAINS, ALL SHINES BLACK
Feb 28–Apr 11, 2010

Alejandro Vidal, *When it rains, all shines black*, 2009. 8 c-prints, 125 x 185 cm each

Alejandro Vidal, When it rains, all shines black, 2009. 8 c-prints, 125 x 185 cm each

PARTICIPANT INC presents When it rains, all shines black, the first U.S. solo exhibition of Barcelona-based artist Alejandro Vidal. Known for his large-format photographs, videos, and installations that assert a post-cinematic aesthetic of conflict, seen through a generational lens that distinguishes the obsolescence of transgression in societies obsessed with control, the exhibition will consist of new works in photography and video.

Vidal’s new photographs for When it rains, all shines black are a loose re-staging of a common form of popular political dissent in Latin American countries, involving the symbolic washing of the national flag in front of government buildings. Shooting at night from a hermetically remote location, usually from inside a car and illuminated only by the glare of headlights, Vidal de-objectifies the original act through distancing strategies, insinuating a subtle yet threatening rupture. The location and actions appear inscrutable, foreboding a dystopic resistance or enacting a B-movie-esque ceremony of an imaginary secret society. The flags are unidentifiable, and the actors are theatrically styled to produce a “vernacular upheaval, insinuating those forms of cultural subversion that are more powerful for going undetected.” (Erica Papernik, Crime and Punishment, Tallinn Kunstihoone, 2006). 

Co-organized by SEACEX, Sociedad Estatal para la Accion Cultural Exterior.

Alejandro Vidal, *Forever*, 2010. Slingshot, tattoo.

Alejandro Vidal, Forever, 2010. Slingshot, tattoo.

Alejandro Vidal, *When it rains, all shines black*, 2009. 8 c-prints, 125 x 185 cm each

Alejandro Vidal, When it rains, all shines black, 2009. 8 c-prints, 125 x 185 cm each

Alejandro Vidal, *Firestorm*, 2009. Single channel dvd.

Alejandro Vidal, Firestorm, 2009. Single channel dvd.

More from Season 8

My Barbarian, *The Night Epi$ode Three: Who's for Dinner / Watery Grave, *2009. Single-channel video, 10:00 min.
My Barbarian
THE NIGHT EPI$ODE
Sept 13–Oct 18, 2009
Ottonella Mocellin and Nicola Pellegrini, *With the occasional rainbow visiting*, 2008.
Ottonella Mocellin / Nicola Pellegrini
AN INCONGRUOUS BEAM OF BEAUTY OVER THE GAZA STRIP
Oct 21–25, 2009
Stuart Sherman
STUART SHERMAN: NOTHING UP MY SLEEVE
Nov 8–Dec 20, 2009
Robin Graubard, *I live in my head*. Lambda print
Robin Graubard
THE HOLD UP
Jan 10–Feb 14, 2010
Alejandro Vidal, *When it rains, all shines black*, 2009. 8 c-prints, 125 x 185 cm each
Alejandro Vidal
WHEN IT RAINS, ALL SHINES BLACK
Feb 28–Apr 11, 2010
Johanna Constantine, *Void*, Performance at *Vox Populi*, April 25, 2010.
DEAD FLOWERS PHILADELPHIA
Mar 5–May 2, 2010
*That's When the Rabbit Taught the Eagle a Lesson With a Smith & Wesson*, Cover
THAT'S WHEN THE RABBIT TAUGHT THE EAGLE A LESSON WITH A SMITH & WESSON
Apr 18–May 2, 2010
Beaut performing *Take my Hand, *2010*.*
DEAD FLOWERS NYC
May 9–Jun 20, 2010
*Keeping Busy: An Inaccurate Survey of Michel Auder*, Installation View
KEEPING BUSY: AN INACCURATE SURVEY OF MICHEL AUDER
Jun 27–Aug 15, 2010

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