Gabriel Massan, CLUBE, THIRD WORLD – THE BOTTOM DIMENSION at Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo – Pina Contemporânea, São Paulo

THIRD WORLD – THE BOTTOM DIMENSION by Gabriel Massan and CLUBE, curated by Lorraine Mendes and Tamar Clarke-Brown, at Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo – Pina Contemporânea, São Paulo, 31/08/2024 – 02/02/2025.

Exhibition text:
Divided into three parts, the exhibition simulates and builds different levels through elevated platforms, in dialogue with the video game presented by the artist. In the first part, visitors learn about the game by watching a multi-perspective video and listening to the “consciousness” on furniture that supports sculptures with built-in speakers. In the second part, they can play the game on four stations: two represent fantastical characters, one recreates a topographic accident, and another is fully accessible. The third part features live streaming on a large panel, accompanied by a seating area resembling stands.

Holes, leaks, paths, and choices permeate the experience. The indistinction between the horizontal and vertical planes of the platforms is marked by motifs referencing and contrasting with the gallery’s ornaments. Raw aluminum supports structure the devices mediating the real and virtual, with compositions suggesting incompleteness. The vertical and artificial elements of this metallic alloy testify to human presence in an undefined space-time. Between the second and third parts, a rubber arena, marked by folding planes, serves as a meeting, reading, and collective space—evoking a school, which once occupied the gallery’s space.