"Jacklighting"

January 27, 2020

French artist Anne-Charlotte Finel presents Jacklighting at The Chimney for her first solo show in the US. Referring to the nocturnal hunting practice of shining bright lights throughout dark fields in order to momentarily stun animals, Jacklighting proves itself both weird and wonderful. Finel's work, focused on spaces affected by unnatural lighting systems, is composed of four reels. And with each video being manipulated both digitally and physically, the story from viewer to viewer may be rather ambiguous.

In Triste Champignonniste (Sad Mushroom Farmer), 2017, Finel films a mushroom farm in a former underground gypsum quarry—although it may look more like the ground for a nuclear bomb shelter as bursting shapes and foggy landscapes are cast upon a pink velvet backdrop. Only upon closer inspection may one gradually discern the actual rotting of elements played upon the deteriorating pixels of the film for a versatile look on decomposition.

As is the case with all of the show’s remaining components, nothing is quite as it seems in Jacklighting. The rhythm of the subjects and the landscapes of the environment speak to the title’s permanent state through the relationship between man and nature, attesting to Finel’s expertise in observing the unordinary and inclination to search for truth in the otherwise vastly unseen.

Text by Caroline Brown
Photos courtesy of The Chimney and the artist; Photography by Reggie Shiobara

Jacklighting is on view at The Chimney until February 23, 2020.

Art

'Demarcation Line' by Shay Semple goes up at Romeo Gallery

January 21, 2017

'Demarcation Line' is a solo show by Shay Semple currently on display at Romeo Gallery. The show investigates national identity and 20th century politics in a post-Brexit and post-Trump world, appropriating iconography of archaic mass culture and poses it with a series of lineations to explore this ideology. The pieces include 80s cartoons, old food packaging, Vintage Dutch post cards, among other various articles to convey their message. A limited amount of Dutch pre-war illustrated postcards depicted Dutch children in idealistic, precarious situations. Semple repurposes the postcards from their original facade of Euro homogeneity to reflect the seismic changes occurring and the divide that is becoming increasingly more treacherous. The show is open Friday through Sunday from 12 - 6 PM through January 29th.

No Mess, No Fuss, Just Pure Impact ( Agnetha/Abba Fan )

Demarcation Orange: A Line For Theo Van Gogh

Knee High Boots Click Against Imperfection ( Agnetha/Abba Fan )

The Eyes Must Be The First To Go (Quixote)

Demarcation Orange: Geert Wilders’ Youth

Demarcation Orange: A Minaret Appears On The Skyline

Art

Everyone is Rich Now Apparently

Art

Roy Colmer at Lisson Gallery

January 17, 2017

Lisson Gallery opens its very first exhibition of Roy Colmer's work in January 2017.

This exhibition will feature fifteen of the artist's early spray-gun paintings, most of which have never been exhibited before.

"Experimenting with video feedback, I became excited working with a flowing and constantly changing form. Working in black-and-white video, the liquid properties of the image suggested many possibilities." Noted Colmer regarding his process, "In my painting, the use of an industrial model spray gun allowed me to cover large areas of the canvas with little effort. The strips were taped horizontally. I could then approach a breaking down of the color vertically."

A selection of photographic works from the 1980s are also included in the exhibition. Lisson Gallery will carry this exhibition till February 18, 2017. Scroll down to see more.

Photos by Jiafei Li