Hionas Gallery TriBeCa is pleased to be hosting the very first east coast exhibition from Los Angeles-based artist duo The Ultravelvet Collection, comprised of eight new photomontage works from their series Sex Invaders.
Combining iconography from classic video games, erotic imagery, film photography and graphic design, Sex Invaders is a visual journey for a generation who grew up playing games on Atari and original Nintendo systems, yet whose base desires may have matured somewhat in the ensuing years. “Video games appeal to kids at a base level, like sex to an adult.” says Ultravelvet Collection co-founder Eric Hajjar. “What we’re doing is merging our adult- and childhood fantasies to create something entirely new.”
Indeed, anyone who grew up playing with these systems appreciates the rhythms and repetitions that are integral to games like Space Invaders and Donkey Kong, and undoubtedly feels some sense of nostalgia for their simple and elegant designs. Juxtaposed with recurring photos of sultry models, all shot using a 35-mm Canon FTB, the resulting montages are beguiling and playful, exotic and even a bit spontaneous.
For the work Laid in the Arcade-Pac Man (2012), Hajjar and co-founder Meredith Rose have recreated the level 1 board from Pac-Man and superimposed this over mirror images of a bikini-clad model, who shimmers amidst the harsh glow of a tanning bed. The image acts as a soothing trap of sorts. The mind’s eye inevitably plays out the level of the game, eluding danger at every corner, and in this process one’s eyes will scan every inch of the woman’s body, making the game itself either an act of seduction or voyeurism.
Each work will be available in large and small format, in editions of 3 and 7, respectively, and include a certificate of authenticity, signed and numbered by the artists. The opening reception for Sex Invaders will take place on Thursday, November 29th, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. The artists will be present.
