Artist Indira Cesarine presented a Special Project for SPRING/BREAK Art Show 2018, creating an immersive installation of a retro hotel, which became the framework for an exhibition of 24 female artists. All neon works featured in the installation were created by Indira Cesarine. Other new works by Indira Cesarine which premiered in the exhibition included her “SEX in a suitcase” sculptural installation piece, featuring a handmade neon work in bold red letters spelling out SEX, lying in a suitcase full of of lingerie, a leather whip, old medium format used film packaging and a 1970 issue of Playboy, as well as her “am/pm sex worker” photography series and several collaborative sculptural works with artist Meredith Ostrom, with whom she worked together to create the headboard featured in the install as well as chairs imprinted with their human form.

ABOUT (HOTEL) XX 

“(Hotel) XX” is an immersive installation and group exhibition, presenting the work of female identifying artists whose work explores the intimate experiences of the transient visitor, a traveler on a journey to a strange and new place. The installation is presented as a retro hotel reminiscent of a roadside stay off the highway. Travelers, lovers and drifters alike have left behind fragments of their history that became part of the hotel’s DNA, with memories lingering on the walls and each traveler’s experiences left behind through the artwork on display. Their encounters have been immortalized as imprints of visual mementos, each vividly charged with the intensity of the moments that took place in the room or in their dreams while sleeping in it.

Art in a variety of mediums including photography, painting, drawing, sculpture, textile and video present the history of female “strangers” who have metaphorically or physically left their mark. The furniture in the room additionally creates an experiential framework. The title “(Hotel) XX” is a syntactical play on female sex chromosomes, and reflects the project’s focus on the female experience through a surreal and voyeuristic journey through time.

CURATORIAL STATEMENT

“I was influenced by classics such as Twilight Zone and Hitchcock as well as more contemporary references such as Twin Peaks and Elles, while exploring the theme of “Stranger Comes to Town.” My special project for SPRING/BREAK “(Hotel) XX” aims to shed light on the varied and deeply intimate experiences of women through a voyeuristic lens. I wanted to explore the memories that any woman may have had while staying in a roadside hotel. She is a woman – perhaps a lover, sex worker or victim of violence – on a trip to a new and unknown place, a transient visitor navigating the vulnerability and anxiety that often accompanies displacement. The female experience is often over simplified, through stereotypes and the objectification of women via the male gaze. This project presents the female perspective on intimacy without censorship or glorification. I find myself drawn to the theme of the female gaze as a powerful message and means to further investigate women’s experience. Historically, women have been highly marginalized, faced with double standards and oppression, and as such their perspective considered “other” or “alien” to patriarchal society. I wanted to create an immersive experience with “(Hotel) XX.” I was inspired by the idea of an exhibition within an installation that engages the viewer in a visual narrative allowing them to re-live female memories, dreams and fears, becoming privy to their most confidential thoughts and fantasies.” – Indira Cesarine

“(Hotel) XX” was featured internationally in the press in a variety of publications including Vogue Italia, W Magazine, Hyperallergic, Dujour Magazine, Artnews, Hunger Magazine, Office Magazine, Daily Beast, Fashion Unfiltered, Spoiled NYC, Arcade Project and more.

Artworks featured in the exhibition by INDIRA CESARINE:

(HOTEL) XX Installation – concept, design, execution 

Neon works / all 2017- 2018

“(hotel) xx”
“NO VACANCY”
“slut (pink)”
“lust (violet)”
“LUST (fire red)”
“Fuck Off (pink)”
“Fuck (violet)”
“LOVER (fire red)”
“SEX in a Suitcase”
“YES / NO (pink)” CONSENT SERIES
“YES (Fire Red)” CONSENT SERIES
“Light my Lamp / Retro Nightstand Lamp”
“Light my Lamp / Retro Table Lamp”
“Light my Lamp / Retro Ceiling Lamp”
“Kiss Me” video art in vintage TV
“Kama Sutra Lamp” Reclaimed vintage lamp with Kama Sutra text

Collaborative works with artist Meredith Ostrom / all 2018
“Cum sit with me” Acrylic Paint on Set of Reclaimed Vintage Eames Chairs
“SexBoard” Acrylic Paint on Linen Upholstered Headboard

Photography / all 2018
“(M) 4:20pm” am/pm sex worker series
“(M) 1:33pm” am/pm sex worker series
“(M) 2:15pm” am/pm sex worker series
“(M) 3:10pm” am/pm sex worker series
“(M) 4:33pm” am/pm sex worker series