Bends Back On
Robert Dupree & Claudia Saimbert

Curated by Brad Silk

September 6 – October 12, 2008

Number 35 is pleased to present Bends Back On, a two-person video and photography exhibition curated by Brad Silk. Bends Back On discusses the relations between self and society from the position of artist in reflection and artist as commenter. These artists develop a circular relationship, like the sociological condition known as reflexivity, where observer or action implicates findings. In their visual analysis we discover the artists' fingerprint on society as well as the inverse.

Robert Dupree uses his body as a tool in his Torture You/Torture Me series, where we join him in discovering the limits of body and mind. Documenting acts of sadism and struggle, he grasps at social oddity turned normality. Dupree travels through pain and whimsy in photography and video with a humorous yet concerning eye on modern society. 

Claudia Saimbert studies connection in her series depicting women interacting with a mound of raw earth. By weaving together these portraits with the murmur of her emotional interviews with the subjects, she creates a haunting installation of female identity. Seemingly sterile, Saimbert's images depict the deep wounds within the diverse sisterhood, which she explores, finding similarities in varied experiences. 

“Kicking Off Fall”, Artinfo.com, September 5, 2008.