Consumption Humor Junction
The Artlink A.E. England Gallery opening exhibition will feature artist Siri Khandavilli. Her solo exhibition titled “For the Love of Money” will include a variety of Mixed Media and Video works. The opening reception is from 6-9 PM on October 16th. The gallery will also be open for a closing reception on First Friday November 6th from 6-10 PM and by appointment.
Siri Khandavilli is an intermedia artist working in the realms of video art, paintings and installations. In this set of works, “For the Love of Money”, Siri Khandavilli contemplates on the complex relationship between her and Money. She does this by juxtaposing some of the important aspects of human life like food, sex and death against money.
The artist, who was born and brought up in India, uses imagery and symbols drawn from the Hindu myths and rituals. For example, the recurring motif of a crow is associated with death rituals in Hinduism. The artist blends her metaphors and symbols drawn from such solemn sources with humor. There are witty uses of references to pop culture as well as to the current art scene.
The mixed media works are seductive, mysterious, metaphorical, visceral and surprisingly amusing at the same time. As in her previous works, the artist continues to explore concepts of contradictions and agreements.
Siri Khandavilli, in her video work Eat, explores the concept of infinite consumption. The video shows the artist in the physical act of eating paper cutouts of currency, shaped as butterflies and flies. The artist uses butterflies as symbols for the ephemeral and the fly as a symbol of death/ mortality. The act of eating is shown as a never ending spiral and the video is presented as an endless loop.
Siri Khandavilli’s works have been exhibited at ASU, Harrywood Gallery, Modified Art Gallery, India Habitat Center, India International Center, Belgium Indian Festival, Art Junction and Brazilian Embassy (India).
Her works are in private collections in USA, UK, India and Italy.
Born in Washington D.C., Linhart relocated to Atlanta during the late 1990s following a nomadic lifestyle of producing shock art that made him a respected regular within the underground scenes of New York, Philadelphia, Dallas, and such far away locales as Manila in the Philippines.
During his Atlanta years, Linhart regularly worked with the shock website Consumption Junction. He released a steady stream of independent films, including 2005’s That’s Just Wrong! co-starring Atlanta sex author and mistress Dolores French, and other rousing titles including Amy Strangled a Small Child (1998) and Acid Is Groovy Kill the Pigs (1993). In addition to his film and visual art productions, Linhart also produced an equally balanced collection of rock recordings with such acts as Joe Christ and the Healing Faith and Los Reactors.
Famous for wearing black T-shirts and jeans accented by macho tattoos upon his forearms, Linhart may have appeared menacing at first glance but upon further inspection most people discovered a truly kind soul and passionate artist. He was a father and friend whose untimely death leaves countless people in shock. But would Joe Christ have had it any other way?
According to his eldest son Alan, he was famous for his dark sense of humor: “I was talking to my Dad’s friend Roy and he told me as bad as I am feeling, Dad is probably laughing his ass off because what a better way to go than to die in your sleep of a heart attack on Father’s Day.”
Linhart had recently been living between Atlanta and Manila and was preparing for a return trip to the Philippines on July 2, where he had an art opening scheduled for July 3. Consumption Junction’s relocation opened the door for Linhart’s earlier travels to Manila where he’d begun to make an impression on yet another city’s underground scene.
Not only was Linhart hosting regular art and film exhibits in the Philippines, he was in pre-production with a Filipino television show entitled “Hey Joe!” in which he would serve as the primary writer, producer and host.
Linhart’s son Alan is currently producing a tribute album for Scrape Records in Baltimore entitled The Second Coming of Christ.
Joe “Christ” Linhart is survived by his parents Joseph and Marilyn of St. Petersburg, Fla., sons Alan Linhart (34, Baltimore), Eric Abner (23, Dallas, Texas.), 7-year-old granddaughter Zöe Linhart, along with four sisters and one brother.
- by Jason Hatcher, Creative Loafing, June 23, 2009
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