COMPASSION
An interactive installation.

Artist: Lynda Abraham.
Curated by Devrim Kadirbeyoglu

Abraham's mechanical drawings, and the sculptures created from them,
explore human interaction as it manifests in social roles of the empower-
ed and those vulnerable to them. In essence, Abraham's sculptures are
"correctional devices" that appeal to our self-help culture, contraptions
that invert the status quo and embolden the indefensible.

In "Compassion", Abraham creates a behavioral science lab, where
viewers are asked to wear lab coats to observe her sculpture's function
and it's effect on participants. The sculpture's body of pulleys, wheels,
cables, seats and metal support structures bind two human subjects
together over a water basin. Through video and drawings, viewers
witness two people placed in the contraption, face to face, only the tips
of their noses touching water. Uncomfortable, each tries to pull their
head further from the water, but in doing so (by the design of the device)
their partner's head will be submerged. Each will cause and witness the
choking, gagging and struggling of the other. The struggle may continue
for a while, as contempt transforms to compassion under the necessity
to work together to end further suffering. While not in use, the sculpture
itself is a case study in how each of its attributes contributes to altering
behavioral patterns.

Like exercise machines that invariably get stored in a corner promising
overnight miracles, Abraham's apparatuses have an added function:
their mere presence creates guilt and rumination. They are a nagging
reminder of the need for change. By provoking empathy, Abraham's
elaborately designed experiences have the potential to harness negative
socialattitudes into positive social behavior.

"I made these sculptures to look like they are functioning prototypes
made by someone in their basement for future manufacturing...Devices
designed for the pursuit of human kindness." Lynda Abraham.

Dates: February 17 - March 26, 2006
Opening Reception: Friday, February 17, 8-10pm

Dam, Stuhltrager
38 Marcy Avenue (at Hope)
Brooklyn, NY 11211
718-387-9818
www.damstuhltrager.com
info@damstuhltrager.com