LOSS

a group exhibition at artP Kunstverein in Perchtoldsdorf, 4th - 26th  September 2021

curated by Claudia Pilsl

Events of finite dimension cannot be avoided. Neither can they be delayed or modified to better suit one’s personal needs. Affecting everybody at one time or another, they influence the course of a life whilst placing a more or less invisible mark as a reminder that something; a life or way of living, a connection, a closeness; had come to an irrevocable end.

What tends to stay with us from these experiences are not only ephemeral traces and memories but also humble everyday objects. At times, these remnants of a past loss can feel like a burden and them still existing whilst what was there is not might feel wrong. These ordinary things are not without agency and trigger reactions beyond their obvious functionality. Being witnesses to a past presence they can suggest that it is possible to bridge this gap between here and then even if it were only for a moment. As signifiers of a past occurrence they can help us to connect with a loss or absence and through them we might be able to access or preserve a trace, or create alternative memories. Whatever we do, they as representatives of events of finite dimension are not only there to make us feel resentful or uneasy but also allow the virtual to entangle the many layers of past and present existence.

This exhibition brings together the works of artists who address loss through engaging with physical traces in form of objects, locality or digital files. When Michel Foucault (1989) suggests that ‘a work of art opens a void’ he not only proposes that art has the ability to raise questions without necessarily providing answers. His proposition also implies that artists can indeed disrupt the forced smoothness of the narrative in order to provoke the viewer to re-examine their preconceptions. These artists engage with events of finite dimension not only to satisfy the needs of their own curious minds, but also to open up a void for the viewer to engage with what it means to live whilst owing ourselves to death.

Participating Artists: Irene Andessner, Oreet Ashery, Rosy Martin, Kayla Parker and Stuart Moore, Claudia Pilsl, Elisabeth Wörndl

(exhibition text)