December 14, 2018 in Shanghai, China
In Les Sportifs Colorés, the Lithuanian photographer Bakas Algirdas zooms in on a performative practice that is a primary structuring experience in the Asian register.
While recovering from a knee injury in 2018, the artist started visiting a local playground armed with only a smartphone camera. In a place that is at once private and public, and furthermore an arena assigned great significance for individuals and the social fabric, this simple act proved a provocative aesthetic gesture.
Via videos on loop, Bakas plays witness to a cultural crossroads where time-honored tradition clashes with borderline fanatical obsession. In spotlighting the repetitive actions of his subjects, this anthropological series compels the audience to reconsider its gaze as voyeur, to complicate the dichotomy of objectifier and objectified, and to question the limits of viewership.
Photos courtesy of the artist and Sophia Liu
