Pedro Barateiro: Tourism/The Current Situation
&& LIFE SPORT sweatpants ed. 3 Combo (purple/grey)
28 Jan - 21 Feb 2016
Sharing a Southern
perspective on tourism and other terrors, Pedro Barateiro arrives to Athens
from Lisbon. The exhibition features the series of drawings Tourism and the
film The Current Situation. LIFE SPORT presents sweatpants ed. 3 Combo
(purple/grey)
The film The Current
Situation starts with the description of two events happening simultaneously,
the cutting down of a palm tree and the sound of a demonstration against
austerity outside the Portuguese Parliament. The two events become related, in
unison, reflecting the present situation. While, on one side, the palm trees
are being cut because of the red weevil plague affecting specific types of palm
trees brought from African ex-colonies, the demonstrations against austerity,
on the other side, happening in Southern European countries like Portugal,
Spain and Greece, considered as toxic assets to the EU, are identified as the
roots of economic crisis. These two events find a parallel in the film,
creating a connection between natural and social systems.
Barateiro's Tourism
drawings stem from a place of instability and need to create a focus in times
of abstract late capitalism and austerity. LIFE SPORT shares these coping
mechanisms and an almost therapeutic necessity to ritualistically record and
thereby re-establish a sense of activity and narrative for ourselves to hold
onto. Individually, they represent an intimacy and softness of a distinct
personal moment, only as a collective they become a voice and seemingly take position.
The third LS Joggers
edition combines a range of existing brands with LIFE SPORT's ethos of 'owning
ourselves' by reclaiming and rebranding the product of grey sweatpants.
All LS sweatpants sales
aid our efforts to generate alternative arts funding in a time and place where
there is none.