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With the kind support of the Austrian Cultural Forum Ljubljana

ALEXANDER JACKSON WYATT Pulverised Plants Repel Dusty Myths

November 23 —
January 5, 2024
LOCATION
RAVNIKAR GALLERY
Vošnjakova ulica 4
1000 Ljubljana
CURATOR
Domen Ograjenšek
PHOTOGRAPHERMario Zupanov

STATEMENT
            Once repeated, a phrase runs the risk of momentarily losing its meaning before sense can be reinstated in its intended place. Repetition does not occur without a semblance of threat to the symbolic fabric it interpolates. The works of Alexander Jackson Wyatt move along such everyday erasures.

            Combining painting, text, photography, and sculptural interventions, at times conjoining them in cyclical self-referencing, Jackson Wyatt’s practice projects a continuous aesthetic transcription. Transcribing is a way of safekeeping and study. An act of care for the ephemeral thought. Unlike translation, it brings with the material trace laid forth by the original. Among its essential features: transposition – the moving or shifting of the transcribed object. As the displacement of fibres in plants (attentively crushed and ground with a mortar and pestle) impacts the potency of the plant’s molecular components, so too the displacement of notions and material traces from the source to its eventual reproduction or adaption impacts the constitution of their ascribed meaning and sense. 

            Pulverised Plants Repel Dusty Myths explores the noise of transcription made manifold. An image is created, duplicated, folded and reapplied. The world reproduced in order to be carefully examined and tinkered with. Its primary sense twisted and bent, testing the limits of meaning before sense turns into nonsense.

            The gestures of folding and copying occupy Jackson Wyatt’s practice with the plasticity and fervour of philosophical principles. The folding is responsible for the infinite differentiation of the immanent, while the copying instills a semblance of devaluation and dispersion of the differentiated. As such, it remains deeply enthralled by the symbolic matter of every epistemology: that is, language and the objects it is used to describe and address. The images move between acting as objects (reduced to their core materiality) and acting as language (nonetheless, retaining the symbolic mesh to which they belong). The paintings touch on the material viscosity of human expression – meaning being reduced to a vague sense, words appearing as distressed matter –, while the frame pieces bring out the robust materiality at play in objects and their innate “objecthood” – their ability to occupy spaces both of memory and function. In the move from the stated to the reiterated, that which is repeated comes to bear the mark of emergent change.

            Alexander Jackson Wyatt (b. 1989) studied painting at the National Art School in Sydney, Australia (2007-2010). He studied with Armin Linke and Michael Clegg (Clegg & Guttmann) at the HfG/ZKM in Karlsruhe (2012-2013) before moving to Vienna to study with Heimo Zobernig at the Academy of Fine Arts (2014-2017).

            He has worked across Australia and internationally, with residencies in Italy (SUDLAB, Naples 2013, Emporio Amani, Milan 2013); Germany (Spinnerei, Leipzig 2012); and Australia (National Art School, Sydney 2013, Cementa, Kandos NSW 2014). Notable prizes and grants include the Artstart Grant from Australia Council for the Arts (2012); Emporio Armani Commission (2013), the National Association for Visual Arts Australia (2014); CAL Cultural Fund, Australia Council Commission, Australia (2015), NSW Artist Grant, Australia (2019); BMKOES Project Grant, Austria (2021, 2022); and an Stadt Wien einzelvorhaben grant (2022). He was artist in residence at CCA Andratx in Mallorca, Spain in 2022 with an upcoming residency at  Atelier Fidalga in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 2023.

            Recent notable exhibitions include SCAMMING at the Palazzo Lancia in Turin, Italy (2017); Dream’n Wild at ALASKA Projects, Sydney Australia (2018); Immuremnt at Station Gallery in Melbourne, Australia (2019); Musikalische Vorschau (with Nicolas Jasmin) Belvedere 21, Vienna 2019; Language Strategies at The Austrian Cultural Forum, London, UK 2018; Kites and F*ckups at Kunstverein Klagenfurt in Klagenfurt, Austria 2022 and Rare Earth Magnet at EXILE, Vienna Austria.

            Domen Ograjenšek (b. 1988) is a writer, critic and curator of contemporary visual art. They are a former member of the ŠUM Journal editorial board and its research collective. They have given lectures and seminars at art institutions such as the International Centre of Graphic Arts (MGLC Ljubljana), the Museum of Contemporary Art Metelkova (MSUM), Škuc Gallery, PhaseBook Prague, Nova Pošta, and the International Festival of Computer Art (IFCA). Their reviews and essays have been published in magazines and online platforms such as PASSE-AVANT, Artalk, Blok Magazine, Fotograf Magazine, all-over Magazine, etc. Magazine, Maska Magazine, ŠUM Journal, Borec Journal, Tribuna and Radio Študent. They have curated exhibitions at the Museum of Madness Trate, SCCA-Ljubljana, Aksioma project space, Museum of Contemporary Art Metelkova (as a member of the Neteorit collective), Center for Contemporary Arts Celje (Likovni salon) and Škuc Gallery. They are based in Vienna

           Ponovoljena fraza tvega začasno izgubo pomena, preden se njen smisel ponovno uveljavi na zanj predvidenem mestu. Do ponovitve ne pride brez vtisa grožnje simbolični strukturi, na katero le-ta vpliva. Dela Alexandra Jacksona Wytta se gibljejo vzdolž tovrstnih vsakdanjih izbrisov.

           Kombinirajoč slikarstvo, tekst, fotografijo in kiparske intervencije, občasno spojene v krožni samonanašalnosti, praksa Jacksona Wyatta izkazuje nenehno estetsko transkripcijo. Transkribiranje je način hrambe in preučevanja, negovalno dejanje, skrb za efemerno misel. V nasprotju s prevajanjem s seboj prinaša materialno sled, ki jo je za seboj pustil original. Med njenimi prvinami je: transpozicija – premestitev ali pomik transkribiranega objekta. Kot razmestitev vlaken v rastlinah (skrbno zdrobljenih ter zmletih s tolkačem in možnarjem) vpliva na učinkovitost njihovih molekularnih komponent, tudi razmestitev predstav in materialnih sledi od izvora k reprodukciji ali adaptaciji vpliva na sestav pomena in smisla, ki sta jim pripisana. 

           Razstava Zdrobljene rastline odbijajo prašne mite raziskuje hrup često ponovljene transkripcije. Podoba je ustvarjena, podvojena, prepognjena in ponovno nanešena. Svet reproduciran za natančen pregled in modifikacijo. Njegov prvotni smisel zvit in upognjen, preverjajoč skrajne meje pomena, preden se pretvori v nesmisel.

           Geste prepogibanja in kopiranja zapolnjujejo prakso Jacksona Wyatta z gnetljivostjo in vnemo filozofksih principov. Medtem ko je prepogibanje odgovorno za neskončno diferenciacijo imanentnega, prinaša kopiranje vtis devaluacije in disperzije tega, kar je diferencirano. Tako ostaja prevzeto s simbolno materijo sleherne epistemologije: jezika torej in objektov, ki jih opisuje in naslavlja. Podobe nihajo med delovanjem kot objekti (reducirane na njihovo jedrno materialnost) in delovanjem kot jezik (vendarle ohranjujoče simbolno mrežo, h kateri spadajo). Wyattove slike nagovarjajo materialno viskoznost človeškega izražanja – pomen je reduciran na nek nejasni smisel, besede se pojavljajo kot razrvana materija –, medtem ko kosi okvirjev razkrivajo robustno materialnost, ki je na delu v objektih in njihovi implicitni “objektnosti” – njihovi zmožnosti zasedati tako spominska kot funkcijska mesta. V premiku od trditve do ponovitve to, kar je ponovljeno, pridobi sled porajajoče se spemembe.

             Alexander Jackson Wyatt (r. 1989) je študiral slikarstvo na National Art School v Sydneyu, Avstraliji (2007-2010). Na HfG/ZKM v Karlsruhe je študiral pri Arminu Linkeju in Michaelu Cleggu (Clegg & Guttmann) (2012-2013), nakar se je preselil na Dunaj za nadaljevanje študija pri Heimu Zobernigu na Akademie der bildenden Künste (2014-2017).

            Svojo prakso je zasledoval na rezidencah v Italiji (SUDLAB, Neapelj 2013, Emporio Amani, Milano 2013); Nemčiji (Spinnerei, Leipzig 2012) in Avstraliji (National Art School, Sydney 2013, Cementa, Kandos NSW 2014). Med prejetimi nagradami in štipendijami so Artstart Grant Australia Council for the Arts (2012), AL Cultural Fund, Australia Council Commission (2015), NSW Artist Grant (Avstralija 2019); štipendiji BMKOES (Avstrija 2021, 2022) ter einzelvorhaben stipendium Mesta Dunaj (2022). Bil je umetnik v rezidenci CCA Andratx na Mallorci (2022) ter Ateliera Fidalge v Sao Paulo, Braziliji (2023).

            Med nedavnimi razstavami so SCAMMING v Palazzu Lancia v Torinu (2017), Dream’n Wild v ALASKA Projects v Sydneyu (2018), Immuremnt v Station Gallery v Melbourneu (2019), Musikalische Vorschau (z NicolasomJasminom) v Belvedere 21 na Dunaju (2019), Language Strategies v Avstrijskem kulturnem forumu v Londonu (2018),Kites and F*ckups v Kunstverein Klagenfurt (2022) ter Rare Earth Magnet v galeriji EXILE na Dunaju.

           Domen Ograjenšek (r. 1988) je pisec, kritik in kurator sodobne vizualne umetnosti. Je nekdanji član uredništva ŠUM in njegovega raziskovalnega kolektiva. S predavanji in seminarji je sodeloval z umetnostnimi institucijami, kot so Mednarodni grafični likovni center (MGLC Ljubljana), Muzej sodobne umetnosti Metelkova (MSUM), Galerija Škuc, PhaseBook Prague, Nova Pošta in Mednarodni festival računalniške umetnosti (IFCA). Njegove kritike in eseji so objavljeni v tisku in na spletnih platformah PASSE-AVANT, Artalk, Blok Magazine, Fotograf Magazine, all-over, revija etc., revijah Maska, ŠUM, Borec, časopisu Tribuna in Radiu Študent. Kuriral je razstave v Muzeju norosti Trate, SCCA-Ljubljana, projektnemu prostoru Aksioma, MSUM (kot član kolektiva Neteorit), Centru sodobnih umetnosti Celje (Likovni salon) ter Galeriji Škuc. Živi na Dunaju.

INSTALLATION VIEWS









LIST OF WORKS
In exhibition left to right
Retained varnish matrix (fine art detergent derision)
r.v.m. (f.a.d.d.), 2023
Structural timber, acrylic, pigment print on canson paper, painters tape, plexiglass, matt varnish
88 x 53 x 9 cm

Painted cyclical vision (uncensored acrylic abolitionist)
p.c.v. (u.a.a.), 2023
Structural timber, acrylic, pigment print on canson paper, painters tape, plexiglass, matt varnish
88 x 53 x 12 cm

Central nervous system ​(cement cynics chain reaction)
c.n.s. (c.c.c.n.), 2023
Structural timber, acrylic, pigment print on canson paper, painters tape, plexiglass, matt varnish
88 x 53 x 10 cm

Bem estar (decanted wellness paint), 2023
Edition of 3
Synthetic neurotoxic pyrethroid, permethrin, matt acrylic varnish
500ml

Lead, earth and ground glass (garden variety fitting faith healer)
l.e.g. (g.v.f.f.h.), 2023
Structural timber, acrylic, pigment print on canson paper, painters tape, plexiglass, matt varnish
88 x 53 x 10 cm

Product is safe (fitting faith healer strips self-opinion)
p.i.s. (f.f.h.s.s.o.), 2023
Structural timber, acrylic, pigment print on canson paper, painters tape, plexiglass, matt varnish
88 x 53 x 10 cm

2 years long (plastic partial eclipse)
2.y.l (p.p.e), 023
Structural timber, acrylic, pigment print on canson paper, painters
tape, plexiglass, matt varnish
88 x 53 x 8 cm

Earth ground glass (power point pedagogical deviant)
e.g.g.(p.p.p.d.), 2023
Structural timber, acrylic, pigment print on canson paper, painters tape, plexiglass, matt varnish
89 x 53 x 11 cm

Hits the spot, 2023
Edition of 3
Oil on linen
20 x 30 cm

Clean matt spill, 2023
Unique edition 1/1
Pigment Print on chiffon
290 x 340 cm

Wait 27 hours, 2023
Unique edition 1/1
Pigment Print on chiffon
290 x 340 cm

Retain liquid state, 2023
Unique edition 1/1
Pigment Print on chiffon
290 x 340 cm