Gabriel Abrantes is a Portuguese American artist whose films and videos confront historical, social, and political themes, layering improbable narratives with absurdity, folklore and humour. His works combine the surreal and the deeply personal to create stories that are at once disorienting and emotionally profound.
In Bardo Loops, his first solo exhibition in the UK, Gabriel blends wry ironic humour with overt melodrama to explore autobiographical fragments and personal tragedies. These are discussed alongside broader existential concerns, such as climate change and the anxieties surrounding a digitally dominated future.
The exhibition comprises a moving image installation, also titled Bardo Loops, presented across four screens. Unfolding as a series of short, looping animations, each vignette lasts roughly two minutes and features animated ghosts suspended in the “bardo” – a term referring to the transitional phase between death and rebirth. These animated spectres argue, reconcile, and lament in cycles that feel both intimate and absurd. In one scene, against the blaze of an uncontrolled wildfire, two ghosts argue about whether to have a child after suffering a tragic loss, seemingly unaware of the catastrophe surrounding them. In another, the ghosts converse next to a hurricane-ravaged coastline. With the histrionic rhetoric and moral signalling we often witness in online spaces, their arguments cycle through looping accusations relating to genetics and systematic oppression. A lone ghost singing and playing the piano in an abandoned, flooded Lisbon palace provides a universally morose soundtrack, crooning “I’m sad, so sad, I’m sad in a sad situation.”
Gabriel uses ghosts as a way of exploring issues of loss, illness and emotional vulnerability. Rendered as floating sheets with cut-outs for eyes and mouths, they evoke beloved cartoon characters, yet their simple form draws us into complex worlds and emotions. Their vulnerable, squishy-looking bodies create a parallel to contemporary life. Like the ghosts, despite the multiple catastrophes reverberating around us, from the threat of ecological disaster to the overwhelming nature of the internet and AI, we often remain oblivious and absorbed in our own personal dramas.
This exhibition includes references to relationship trauma, child loss, eugenics, and other adult themes. Parental guidance is advised. Please speak to a member of staff if you have any questions or concerns.
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