Daria Fontaine Pasquali

A moment of respite - Un moment de répit, 2023

Daria is currently studying sculpture at Concordia University in Tiohti:áke/Montreal. They are interested in the objects and furniture that surround us in our intimate spaces - elements that accumulate over time, that we choose, that we throw away and that we transform. Through this symbolic archive, the artist attempts to reclaim their intimate space, which has been parasitized by the heterocentric, patriarchal, capitalist and colonial North American society. In their practice, they create symbolic and emotionally charged installations; furnished with self-made ceramic, metal and fabric objects, video performances, bioplastics and found and transformed objects. In the intimate spaces that Daria attempts to recreate, they have found the time and space to rethink their own identity and sexuality. Daria invites us into a discussion about gender, sex culture, power and vulnerability.

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Daria Fontaine Pasquali’s sculptural installation, A moment of respite, explores the themes of intimacy and sexual play in BDSM. The work aims to subvert ideas surrounding BDSM as an act of exploration of self-love and care, deconstructing and revisiting the way we approach and conceptualize sex and power. Through this practice, the artist reclaims a space and a new path, rebuilding a sense of belonging for themselves in spaces where they did not previously fit in. This installation piece is a continuation of a larger body of work where the artist made self-portraits on gelatine where they struck themselves with a slapper. These self-portraits deconstruct the binaries that are apparent within BDSM, complicating the role of dominant vs. submissive, in a euphoric gesture far from the realities of this world. In this new installation, the images play with the ideas of relaxation and anxiety release that come from impact play. The large slapper—which is typically a small object kept in a private space for intimate use—becomes a warm blanket that holds and compresses the artist. This oversized slapper cannot be hidden away in the safety of one’s home, challenging the ideas of shame and secrecy surrounding sex, particularly within BDSM. Instead, it is proudly and confidently displayed = in a room as a means of reducing anxiety and promoting self-care. The artist aims to express the emotional and bodily feelings associated with this practice for themselves and other players through objects, images and encapsulated performance. The self-portraits have been transferred onto large sheets of gelatine. They function as a kind of curtain to play with the idea of concealment/revelation and private/public. Curtains create a separation between two spaces; the materiality of the gelatine allows play with transparency and blurriness, disrupting biases.