The Moment You Realise You Are Lost

Stella Capes, Tomas Chaffe, Gintaras Didžiapetris, Blue Firth, Alfred Johansen, Benoît Maire , Dan Rees / Catherine Griffiths, Mandla Reuter, Hannah Rickards, Yann Sérandour, Tris Vonna-Michell, CURATED BY: ADAM CARR Sun 15. Jul 2007 - Sat 01. Sep 2007 Press Release please scroll down for the english version and further information on the artists The Moment You Realise You Are Lost, kuratiert von Adam Carr, präsentiert Arbeiten von 12 internationalen Künstlern, die speziell dem deutschen Publikum bisher weitgehend unbekannt geblieben sind. Die Gruppenschau möchte ein Ideal vitaler Ausstellungstätigkeit wiederbeleben und verjüngen: Es soll eine Situation geschaffen werden, die das Erkunden und das Entdecken fördert. Die Arbeiten der gezeigten Künstler funktionieren im Kontrast zur Vorstellung von Ort und Wiedererkennung. Obwohl sich die Künstler in einem sehr frühen Stadium ihrer Entwicklung befinden, verstehen sie es, ihre Ideen auf äußerst komplexe Weise zu artikulieren. Charakteristisch für ihre Arbeitsweise ist ihr Bestreben, den Betrachter in einen Zwiespalt zu führen. Sie verfolgen eine bestimmte Darstellung, welche die Poesie, die Vergänglichkeit und das Unbekannte in den Vordergrund rückt. Das Angedeutete, das Subtile wiegt dabei viel mehr als das Explizite. Im Zusammenspiel ihrer Werke verwischen sich Fakten und Fiktionen, Wahrheit und Trugschluss, was einem Gefühl von Desorientierung, Verwirrung und Zweifel Vorschub verleiht. Es geht den Künstlern nicht darum, eindeutige Antworten zu geben. Sie operieren vielmehr verdeckt. The Moment You Realise You Are Lost bringt Arbeiten zusammen, die spekulative Nachforschungen anstellen. Einige zeichnen Spuren von Performances auf, die in früheren Jahren stattgefunden haben. Andere greifen diese Strategie auf, täuschen aber über den präzisen Kurs ihrer Aktionen hinweg. Manche Künstler verstecken ihre Autorenschaft hinter den Arbeiten anderer oder sie entdecken deren verloren gegangene Ideen wieder. Einige Arbeiten entflechten verworrene Geschichten oder bieten bisher unbekannte Informationen. Manche davon können auch jenseits der Ausstellung und ihres festgelegten Zeitrahmens funktionieren. Beim Erkunden dieser Ausstellung scheint es, als solle der Betrachter ins Dunkle gelockt werden - in manchen Fällen sogar wortwörtlich. Adam Carr arbeitet als freier Kurator und Autor und lebt in London. Für weitere Informationen wenden Sie sich bitte an die Galerie. English Version The Moment You Realise You Are Lost, curated by Adam Carr, is an exhibition that presents the work of 12 international artists of whom are all unknown to a larger audience, particularly in Germany. One of the central aims of this exhibition resides in a desire to resuscitate and rejuvenate a vital objective behind the purpose of exhibition-making: to form a situation which above all fosters the opportunity for discovery. The work of the included artists, however, functions in contrast to ideas of location and detection by rather sharing an inherent desire to conceal these aspects through various means. Despite being currently situated at an early stage in the development of their artistic positions, or relatively unexposed to a broad range of audiences, the participating artists share in common a rich, erudite and often densely complex articulation of their ideas. Characterised by an aspiration to position the viewer ambivalently yet never to alientate, the included artists focus on a particular performativity with which they seek to foreground the poetic, the fleeting and the unknown, and to be affirmatively suggestive rather than explicit. Their constellations of work embrace a fusion of fact and fiction, truth and false, and thus push for disorientation and an amplification of doubt. Opting to diverge from being entirely solved, found and uncovered instantaneously, these artists choose instead for their works to operate more covertly. The Moment You Realise You Are Lost brings together artworks that will introduce a speculative inquiry yet offer very few entirely conclusive answers.Some of the included works are marked by traces of performances which have previously taken place, whilst others take on this strategy though wholly belie the precise course of actions that brought them into being; they appoint to disguise themselves within other works on display or recover ideas lost by others. Some works reveal interlaced histories or offer information unknown; they might partly operate outside of the exhibition space, even taking place beyond the scheduled dates of the exhibition. In addition, the installation, set-up, as well as the dissemination of the exhibition, will be premised on and interfered with by a number of the included works unexpectedly. In exploration of this exhibition, it seems like these artists like to entice the viewer for a walk in the dark, in some cases, quite literally. Adam Carr is an independent curator and writer currently based in London. For further information concerning the exhibition, please contact the gallery. DESCRIPTIONS OF ARTWORKS STELLA CAPES Trick, ongoing Tally-ho playing card Dimensions variable Courtesy the artist Untitled, 2005 Black balloon, plaster, string Dimensions variable Courtesy the artist Untitled-Cloak, 2005 Digital print 38 x 45.5 cm (framed) Courtesy the artist Failure stands as the principle concept of engagement for the work of Stella Capes. This leads to the creation of pieces suffused with humour, tragedy, yet, which also emphasises the poetic and the fleeting. Her works generate a rich melancholy and tangle with concepts of the human condition; namely our attempts to succeed and with that our inevitable encounters with failure. The three works included within the exhibition, Trick, Untitled and Untitled-Cloak, are clearly indicative of these aspects which also introduce elements of the performative, leaving traces of actions that bestow on the viewer the task of unravelling how these pieces may have been brought into being. TOMAS CHAFFE Presentation of Resource (2), 2007 Wood, paint and cushion 80 x 40 x 32cm Courtesy the artist Presentation of Konceptas, 2007 Wood, paint, CD player and headphones 150 x 50 x 50cm Courtesy the artist Tomas Chaffe’s practice intends to act in response to the social and cultural issues as well as environmental aspects – on both a specific and more pervasive level - that shape, define and work upon a particular context. His works seek to explore the mechanisms that affect the reception of art and in addition set out to question what defines spaces of art display and the display of art. The two works included within the exhibition could be mistaken as part of the exhibition display, an assumption that proves to not be incorrect. Presentation of Resource (2) and Presentation of Konceptas are in fact part of larger series of works in which Chaffe covertly contributes to exhibitions by means of developing the presentation for other artist’ works; in this particular case a seating bench for Gintaras Didziapetris and a display device for the work of Blue Firth. In doing so, Chaffe chooses to disguise his contribution within other works comprised within the show, thus dissolving – and perhaps loosing – participation into the apparatus of the exhibition. GINTARAS DIDZIAPETRIS Konceptas, 2006 3 C-Prints each 82 x 99 cm, drawing, sound, booklets Courtesy the artist The concept of the verbalistation of thought is where the practice of Didziapetris’s resides. Konceptas, the work included within the exhibition, proves exemplarily in this line of investigation. The work comprises audio recordings conducted by Benas Rupeika, a broadcaster from a Lithuanian national radio station, conducted with inhabitants of Konceptas, a small Lithuania village the artist discovered by chance. In addition to the audio recordings, three photographs assist with a description of Konceptas, which pose the question of how one can provide a true representation of an idea – an attempt to document the fleetingness of thought – rather than merely stopping short of being just a documented reality of the village. Alongside the photographs, a drawing describes the artist’ journey from Vilnius to Konceptas but one based entirely form memory. English transcriptions of the recorded conversations have been produced in booklet form and are freely available to takeaway during the exhibition. BLUE FIRTH Resource (2), 2007 Books Dimensions variable Courtesy the artist Deriving from a personal interest in the occult, mysticism and the paranormal, Blue Firth’s research-based practice readily draws upon these fields of appeal, seeking to translate the particular atmosphere of each to the gallery space. However, her work is not concerned with rejuvenating an investigation into the dematerialisation of art that these partially mythical sources of inspiration might suggest, but is occupied with some of the core ideas synonymous with the insurgence of conceptual art: the framing of viewers experience and a plea to address audiences’ imagination as well as the role of participation. As oppose to leaving very little physical presence, her attention is directed towards the staging of visual elements within an exhibition, always of which is articulated in close conjunction with her research. For example, a work produced for the occasion of a recent group exhibition mixed together imagery found in ancient alchemical and magical manuscripts – the same combination of imagery that thieves purportedly once used to induce temporary blindness. By drawing upon elements of a medieval spell, another recent work endeavoured to coax change out of people’s pockets should they have stepped near its range of occupancy. Furthering this investigation into the unknown, her work located within this exhibition presents a collected anthology that forms a guide to what cannot be seen. As the work is perpetually transforming in accordance to locations in which it is shown, some of the presented material relates specifically to the context of Berlin. ALFRED JOHANSEN Untitled, 1966 two silver gelatin prints each 60 x 45 cm Courtesy Alfred Johansen Estate, Odense I’ve never met Alfred Johansen; in fact very few have. Albeit born in 1928, death or even his current whereabouts are unknown. During the mid 70s the artist vanished, and due to this act of disappearance the condition of Johansen’s current state cannot be confirmed nor denied. Further shrouded in mystery are the works he made during his short artistic career that were only experienced directly by very few. The two works on display serve as the surviving traces of a number of performances conducted by Johansen in darkened gallery spaces, which at the time left audiences entirely bemused and thus operated by rumour rather than concrete fact, much in the same way as his biography. As both photographs were taken without flash to overcompensate for the lack of light, the speculation occupying the minds of those who endured the artist’s performances also follows on when confronted with these works, all of which is ultimately part of Johansen’s original goal. Also shown within the exhibition is a letter written by Johansen, which may offer insight into the reason behind his decision to stop producing work then later vanishing without a trace. BENOÎT MAIRE In Forecast Of October 22, 2007 lambda print 40 x 30 cm Courtesy the artist; Hollybush Gardens, London; and Cortex Athletico, Bordeaux Benoit Maire's works comprise intertwined, laced histories, and arise from collaborations with other practitioners including artists, key philosophers and various fictional characters. Casting a focus on art’ discursive capabilities, his pieces to date have taken on various forms such as lectures, discussions, books, photographs and installations, taking as their starting point a number of philosophical and historical texts. Most recently, this sparked an investigation into the relationship between repetition and lived time. In Forecast Of October 22 serves as an indexical trace of a performance undertaken by the artist in London. This work springs from the artist's desire to fuse together most notably a reference to Jacques Derrida's Mémoires d'Aveugle (memory of the blind people), a personal quest to experience blindness yet with his eyes open – which the artist has had for a number of years prior to its undertaking – as well as a desire to be the protagonist in performance that set out to make temporal disturbance to the everyday. The work was directed partly in collaboration with ABAKE, a graphic design team based in London, exemplifying the artist' fulfillment of works in close collaboration with others. DAN REES / CATHERINE GRIFFITHS Home For Lost Ideas Courtesy the artists HOME FOR LOST IDEAS is a project organised by artists Dan Rees and Catherine Griffths. The project consists of contributions by numerous artists pertaining to an invitation sent out by Rees and Griffiths in which they made a request for lost ideas. This exhibition offers a selected presentation of the project, which is shown over a number of vitrine’s. MANDLA REUTER Time Has Ceased Space Has Vanished, 2006 Light switch, time switch, all light sources of the exhibition space Courtesy the artist The work of Mandla Reuter results in the alteration of space. His works set out primarily to amplify aspects most commonly overlooked, and with that amplification transforms an audiences perception of a particular space while focusing on their activity and position. His works to date have designed numerous ambivalently fuelled situations including the shaping of a detour within the viewers path inside an institution by using tropical plants; the transposition of a small Madrid based private apartment into a fully working cinema; the organisation of a mysterious exhibition that purportedly took place in Buenos Aires; obstructing the front entrance to an exhibition using a large stone; and the entire set of keys to an exhibition space placed on view within the exhibition space itself. Reuter’s work within the exhibition is intended to cause an equally elusive atmosphere, shifting the mise-en-scène to the fore. Interfering with the artificial lighting of the gallery, Time Has Ceased Space Has Vanished plunges the exhibition space into partial darkness, the direction of which is set by a subjective calculation: 90 percent of the time it takes to view the entire exhibition. HANNAH RICKARDS Thunder, 2005 sound dimensions variable Commissioned by Media Art, Bath; Courtesy the artist Hannah Rickards’ works result from elaborate processes undertaken with great degree of complexity and precision. The exact course of these actions, however, are later concealed and disguised by the artist within pieces that confront us with the apparently familiar. She uses the medium of sound, yet her works tend not to be about the specificity or the position of this medium within the visual arts. Rather, sound is a medium that enables the artist to platform the idea of combining nature with artifice. Altering noises from the natural world, such as those made by birds or, as demonstrated with the work in this exhibition, the sound of thunder, she dismantles the ordinary and resembles it entirely differently, yet whilst still keeping the nuances and defining factors of those sounds intact. The consequences of these works often leave viewers with a sense of uncertainty, urging one to listen closely in order to reach a partial understanding of what has contributed to the making of her works. Camouflaging an undercurrent of events, Thunder is a recording of a single thunderclap drawn out to seven minutes, transcribed into a musical score and then performed by six musicians using six different instruments. Subsequently, the recording made of this performance was then compressed by the artist to match the same length in time as the original thunderclap, thus formulating a circuit on which, from the basis of the outcome alone, we can never be certain about what we are fully experiencing. YANN SERANDOUR L’Espace, lui-même [The Space, Itself], 2007 Silkscreen on newspaper 110 x 80 cm Courtesy the artist Pile ou Face [Heads or Tails], 2007 (with Julie C. Fortier) One-euro coin Collection Marc and Josée Gensollen, Marseille The practice of Yann Serandour is occupied with questions of reference, control, value and exchange. Drawing upon paradigms of dissemination and circulation, Serandour shapes works that aim to alter the meaning of a number of historical artworks in such a way that could be described as form of footnoting. Standing in line with this strategy, L’Espace, lui-même takes as its starting point a newspaper produced and edited by Yves Klein on Sunday 27th November 1960 and which focused on that day in particular. Overlooked by many was a small portion of the front page divested of anything visually recognisable, which Klein described as a representation of the space itself. It is Klein’s abstraction that Serandour draws his attention to, vastly increasing its size and thus opening it out to new questions and further equivocal scrutiny and speculation. Pile ou Face, a second work included within the exhibition is also fuelled with mystery, revolving around issues of loss, action and non-event – a relic of a performance already of which has taken place. Serandour recently developed a series of new works for an exhibition in Marseille but decided to command the fate of these pieces – and the exhibition – by a toss of a coin. Tails and heads were assigned with entirely divergent results: tails, the cause to exhibit the works and continue on with the exhibition as formally planned, and heads bringing the opposite effect in which the coin would be the only element on display, remaining in the same position throughout the duration of the show and exhibited in the same way in any exhibitions thereafter. TRIS VONNA-MICHELL The Reinvention of Twenty-odd Photographs By Word of Mouth, 2007 Table and telephone installation consisting of printed papers (photographs (9cm x 13cm) and a text-piece), pre-paid phonecards (available upon purchase at the reception desk)and performance via the phoneline for the duration of the show (only during the gallery s opening hours). Courtesy the artist Most of Tris Vonna-Michell’s works are disseminated in person. They leave little material trace yet direct an audience’s attention to the old-age essence of storytelling rather than to the concept of dematerialisation. Delivered with great rapidity and poised eloquence, but often divested of any linear structure, Vonna-Michell’s stories lead viewers through meandering journeys that oscillate between truth and false, fact and fiction, and which point to vastly different moments in history. Despite often being articulated in a tightly flawless manner – in such a way that suggests the artist is simply relaying stories already told – Vonna-Michell’s tales are the result of a personal craft and follow after years worth of personal research. Through the content of his narration, he makes visible the as of yet seen, within which associative links and interconnections seem effortlessly forged between vastly different points of history. Alongside this, his works consist of partial accounts of his own personal experiences, which he turns into as much significance as the points of widespread historical importance that he draws upon. Despite how the particular means of the dissemination of his works might suggest intended references to early performance and conceptual art, they are not concerned with art history in so as much a reference to those movements. Rather than the work being a predominant focus on the tension between audience and performer, Vonna-Michell’s works take place more discreetly. Viewers are often felt personally drawn in, lost, then regain their position to only loose themselves shortly after, shaping a uniquely compelling experience. The artist has developed a new work specially for the occasion of the exhibition that, among other issue of address, intends to overcome the obstacle of himself not being able to be present within the gallery space for the entire exhibitions run, yet, paradoxically, will still carry the special ingredient that defines his work: that of a delivery by his own narration. This piece sheds a peculiar tale centred upon the surrounding context of the gallery, the activation of which is entirely at the commanded of the individuals who visit the exhibition. Please ask at the galleries reception area for more information.