Tornar-se ORLAN

“I AM ORLAN, AMONG OTHER THINGS AND AS FAR AS POSSIBLE. MY NAME IS WRITTEN EVERY LETTER IN CAPITAL LETTERS BECAUSE I DON’T WANT TO BE MADE TO FIT IN, I DON’T WANT TO BE MADE TO FIT IN THE LINE” —ORLAN

Uppercase, big, capital. ORLAN writes her name as she wants to live and to make art: without accepting to conform to or be limited by lines and rules. One of the most internationally renowned French artists, ORLAN stands as a prominent representative of a generation of artists deeply committed to feminism. Notably, she is also a key figure in body art, which she calls “carnal art.”

Continuously present in the contemporary art scene for no less than six decades, ORLAN’s work has consistently questioned the roles of women in society, and the canonic ideals of beauty imposed on female bodies over time. Through performances, photographs and sculptures—but also using new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and robotics, or even medical techniques, such as surgery and biomedicine—ORLAN has dedicated herself to breaking away from preestablished ideals of order, religion and patriarchy often with tones of humor and acerbic criticism, which some consider even grotesque.

Held at the SESC unit on Paulista Avenue and curated by Alain Quemin and Ana Paula Simioni, the exhibition Tornar-se ORLAN presents an anthological overview of the artist’s whole extensive oeuvre with special emphasis on her most seminal contributions. The show is focused on her large-format photographs, videos, and interactive multimedia installation. Highlights in the show include works from the Body-Sculpture series (ORLAN danse avec son ombre and Nu Descendant l´escalier en talons compensés) produced in the 1960s; the Baiser de l’artiste created in 1977; works from her carnal art series, from the 1990s; the ORLANoïde, a robot developed with A.I., which looks just like the artist and has her own voice; ORLAN will also present her performance Le slow de l’artiste.

Born in the industrial city of Saint Etienne, ORLAN began to produce artworks at a very young age, when she was just 16 and immediately adopted a dimension of empowerment. In ORLAN accouche d´elle m´aime, one of her key works, created in 1964, the artist is portrayed in a black-and-white photograph, seen from above, nude, and with her legs entwined around a female manikin—as though she were giving birth to her own, loved self. In French, the title plays with the homophony of the French words for “she loves me” and “herself”. Its purpose is both very feminist and very queer. Now, nearly six decades later, this show seeks to dialogue with new generations and to rekindle questions that the artist grappled with in her youth: How can an artist or any woman, create herself? How can each person construct him or herself? Those questions, even today, remain fundamental.