‘Restrain’ appears static, but the works (and the viewers) dance

S. Nicole Lane, The Chicago Reader, December 19, 2019

Artist Brendan Fernandes has been having conversations about ballet and mastery within his work for years. The call and response interaction focuses on the idea that ballet is tied to the process of perfection. It can be difficult for ballet dancers to let go and let loose. It's endurance, labor, and an intense effort for the body to stretch, hold, and pose. The body is challenged to push through any sort of pain to gain a reward. Ballet demands the body to do more, to be better. Fernandes finds the kinds of demands in another of his interests—BDSM. Dance and BDSM derive from the same formula: discipline, rigor, and authority.