In summer 2013, Outset supported the presentation of Pedro Reyes' 'Sanatorium' as part of the group exhibition The Spirit of Utopia at the Whitechapel Gallery, London.
Sanatorium comprised a suite of treatment rooms offering a variety of group and individual therapies. Originally trained as an architect, Reyes is interested in using therapy as a methodologyand material with which to make work. Combining the language and theory of psychology and analysis with that of other disciplines such as theatre, performance, fine art and philosophy, Reyes tests the theory of ‘Sociatry’. This science and art of healing society was first articulated in 1930 by Jacob Levi Moreno as a way of curing the ills associated with urban living.
Sanatorium was premiered in 2011, by the Guggenheim in New York and presented in 2012 at dOCUMENTA 13, Kassel. Uniquely, Pedro Reyes re-designed each of the iterations of the Sanatorium.
Sanatorium comprised of 16 therapies one of which was the 'Philosophical Casino'. ‘Philosophical Casino' worked as an oracle and was a group or individual therapy. The participants were asked to write down three questions, which perhaps could be a decision that was needed to be made in life, one they wished to gain some clarity concerning. In a group situation the participants placed their questions in a box, and each took a turn to pick one out. The participants chose a question, picked a die and rolled.
Working as the dice or dreidals each of the five fibre glass polyheydra was dedicated to one of the following philosophical categories: English, Far East, Renaissance, XIX century philosophy in German and mid-20th century philosophy. Quotes from prominent philosophers such as Kant, John Locke and Jean-Paul Sartre were screen printed on each of their sides. Participants were encouraged to give feed back and to discuss how the quote shed light on their question.
ON VIEW: 4th April – 5th September 2013
