Slash. Whip. The belts hit the wall of the Berlinische Galerie with venom, bruising its pristine white surface with each hit. The sculpture appears bound to the neutralising and oppressive space of the masculine white cube, relying on the architecture of the gallery as its structural support, yet these violent whips are subversive gestures that show that this artwork refuses domination by the institution and instead intends to dominate it. It is a beast that will not be contained. Through physically damaging the walls of the white cube gallery, Bonvicini’s sculpture is not simply a demonstration of institutional critique but strikingly physicalizes this critique, transforming it into an act of violence. The walls and floor are bruised and battered, the victim of its own making.

It is not only the architecture that is at risk. Viewers must dodge the whip in a series of calculated moves that resembles a dance to ensure they do not also become victims of the sculpture’s vendetta against the white cube. Once the viewer safely crosses the sculpture’s path they are confronted with Belts Ball (double ball) (2017) lurking in the gallery corner (fig.2). The sculpture consists of two balls of black belts attached to the walls of the gallery, linked by fastened belts hanging between them. Whist considerably smaller in scale to Breathing, Belts Ball has an undeniable presence. The sculpture’s composition inevitably resembles male genitalia but could also symbolise a couple who are intertwined by their shared sadomasochistic desires. Either way, the sexual tension of the tightly bound belts is palpable.