Held at the President’s Gallery, NYC, and curated by Claudia Calirman, Lisa Farrington and Thalia Vrachopolous, Crimes Against Love is an exhibition of ten artworks by Cyriaco Lopes that memorialize victims of homophobic murders in Brazil. Brazil has sanctioned same-sex civil unions throughout its territory and hosts the largest Gay Pride parade in the world. At the same time, the country has one of the highest rates of violence against homosexuals. Crimes Against Love memorializes some of these victims of intolerance. Each piece juxtaposes large format photographs of ravaged sculptures taken from Greco-Roman and Medieval collections of preeminent museums, all printed on fabric, with micro narratives taken from the newspapers, i.e. “2012. Buried alive by his stepfather. He was 14 and struggled to be openly gay.” A law that would criminalize homophobia has been proposed in 2001 and is yet to be voted by the Brazilian Congress.

// Cyriaco Lopes: Crimes Against Love @ President's Gallery, June 13 – September 7, 2012

Jack Smylie