A less obedient version of Alexa // Carmen de la Roca Igual

For our second exhibition under the program From Dawn till Dusk  we present  A less obedient version of Alexa by Carmen de la Roca Igual.

PROGRAM
The exhibition will be on view from the 19th till 21th of May, 13:00 – 19:00h
Opening Friday 19th of May from 18:00 onwards, at Trixie, Scheldestraat 1, The Hague.
In addition, the artists host EMBODIED MEME WORKSHOP, on Sunday 14th of May, 15:00 — 18:00*,find more information below.

How many people are there out there having this same conversation as us?
Inviting us to step into a role of a character in her fictional narrative, Carmen de la Roca creates a familiar situation where everything assembles everyday life. The exhibition transforms the gallery into a set design, mimicking a public space that holds the capacity to embrace intimate acts such as stripping the body or facing one’s own perception of themselves, simultaneously being a meeting point for strangers in front of mirrors.
‘A Less Obedient Version Of Alexa’ speaks about an all-seeing and all-knowing entity, viewing her connection to Google as a father-daughter relationship. Overhearing her thoughts and getting a brief insight into the life of a stranger, one tends to wonder how role models as cultural translators affect our personal feelings. What is the impact of dominant ideologies on internal thoughts, sense of self-value and ability to trust oneself?

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Carmen de la Roca (b. 1998, Spain) is a lens-based artist researching human behaviour and the social makeup we apply in relation to new media. Her work combines identity, technology, empowerment and the role of new media, but also the essential pursuit of communication, spirituality, and connection that most humans are in search of.
She researches and explores experiences through fictional characters as a proxy to her and society’s dilemmas. The characters live through contemporary narratives as they discover how to utilize the content they create in this attention economy.
Carmen graduated from the Royal Academy of Art The Hague in 2020 and is currently supported by the Artist Start Mondriaan Funds. Her work was officially selected for the #AmLatino Film Festival and was nominated for the Young Talent Award during Dutch Design Week. She has assisted artists and filmmakers Amalia Ulman and Pauline Curnier Jardin, and her work was shown before in Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Budapest, and Rijeka.

EMBODIED MEME WORKSHOP

Sunday 21st May 15:00 – 18:00
There is no participation fee but the spots are limited so please sign up to apostolovski.elena@gmail.com

The workshop invites partaking in a dialogue about appearances whilst visualizing an empowering idea of each person taking part. The methodology is similar to the process Carmen is going through while creating artworks for the exhibition and during this time she will bring her practice closer to the audience.
Participants are invited to share experiences and thoughts about body image, beauty standards, and self-expression. The aim is to approach personal feelings and question  the impact of dominant culture on internal thoughts, sense of self-value and ability to trust oneself. The conversation will also reflect on how patriarchal society often leaves young women with a sense of constantly being watched, even when being alone, and how that can be related to the oversight algorithms and Google have on our lives.
These sensitive topics will be approached in a humorous way to cultivate comfort, fun and recognition among each other. The critical idea to examine is also who is entitled to being funny and what shape humour takes in the gender-biased society we are determined to oppose.

FROM DUSK TIL DAWN
From Dawn till Dusk is the overarching theme of Trixie’s May program. Within this triptych of exhibitions, Carmen Dusmet Carrasco, Helmi Nieminen & Milou van Vlijmen and Carmen Roca Igual will present their latest creations over the course of three weekends in the format of solo and duo presentations. Throughout the program, the artists invite us to enter their interpretations of reality by guiding us through their personal and political experiences. From creating spaces of intimacy in the first beams of the sun to questioning self-value in post-digital times to confronting moments of uncertainty in the darkest hours of the night, each show will transform Trixie’s gallery into a new world. From Dawn till Dusk is held together by the artist’s ability to offer a space for reflection and understanding oneself.

This exhibition was made possible with the support of Stroom Den Haag