Jacob Korczynski
Doctoral student
holding one's own in an unfinished system : Juliette Blightman & Ellie Epp
Author
Other contributions
- Juliette Blightman
- Ellie Epp
Summary, in English
“holding one’s own in an unfinished system
it simply stresses the multiples at play”
This exhibition takes its name from a 1987 text by Canadian artist Ellie Epp. The unfinished systems in which Epp and British artist Juliette Blightman hold their own are multiple: from the commitments of the artists’ daily lives, to the context of the societies they occupy, to the art institutions which provide one possible frame for their work. Both Blightman and Epp accumulate text and images amassing personal archives without the need to always establish an audience.
Is to hold one’s own in an unfinished system to withdraw? Both Epp and Blightman develop an enmeshed relationship between the public and the private. Perhaps withdrawal can be acknowledged as a means for the artist to oscillate in and out of sight, a strategy that allows both for an available exit, but also an entrance to return—a porous position both in and out of the system, interior and exterior.
Currents throughout the practices of both Blightman and Epp carry the residue of recorded moments throughout the Badischer Kunstverein. For Blightman, a photograph can also be the study for one painting, and then another, with all three exhibited alongside each other before being re-photographed. For Epp, images from a childhood landscape become notes in origin. They are bookended in this exhibition by her film and an episodic text assembled from not only Epp’s words but also those of family, friends and predecessors.
it simply stresses the multiples at play”
This exhibition takes its name from a 1987 text by Canadian artist Ellie Epp. The unfinished systems in which Epp and British artist Juliette Blightman hold their own are multiple: from the commitments of the artists’ daily lives, to the context of the societies they occupy, to the art institutions which provide one possible frame for their work. Both Blightman and Epp accumulate text and images amassing personal archives without the need to always establish an audience.
Is to hold one’s own in an unfinished system to withdraw? Both Epp and Blightman develop an enmeshed relationship between the public and the private. Perhaps withdrawal can be acknowledged as a means for the artist to oscillate in and out of sight, a strategy that allows both for an available exit, but also an entrance to return—a porous position both in and out of the system, interior and exterior.
Currents throughout the practices of both Blightman and Epp carry the residue of recorded moments throughout the Badischer Kunstverein. For Blightman, a photograph can also be the study for one painting, and then another, with all three exhibited alongside each other before being re-photographed. For Epp, images from a childhood landscape become notes in origin. They are bookended in this exhibition by her film and an episodic text assembled from not only Epp’s words but also those of family, friends and predecessors.
Publishing year
2015-07-10
Language
English
Document type
Exhibition
Publisher
Badischer Kunstverein
Topic
- Visual Arts
Status
Published