What the works in this exhibition have in common does not reside in theme, period, technique or style, but in what can be called their frequency modulation. They are characterized by introvertedness and restraint, by low tones both vocally and visually, and by their evocation of the muted and the minor. Their connecting thread is in the stillness they exude and in the absence of artistic gesture, in their static mode and the quietness that envelops them. Some of the works were created with minimum intervention and simple actions: placing a camera, documenting a spontaneous natural occurrence, or by means of a single delicate artistic gesture. In some works, what stands out is the choice of pale, minimalist form, material and color. In the face of the blusterer they posit the whisperer; in the face of the grandiose, the quotidian; in the face of the sophisticated, the simple and direct; and in the face of the “larger than life,” the intimate and the up-close. But let there be no mistake: the innate quiet of these works is by no means a symptom of insularity or weakness. On the contrary: it conjures up the saying that “still waters run deep.”
Their insistence on subtlety and nuance gives rise to clear, sharp insights about life in general – and more tellingly at this particular time. Against the background of our dramatic times – violent and criminal events motivated by the intoxication of power and falsehood, wrapped in denials and justifications – slowness, restraint and a low-key approach are not only unusual but also constitute an intimate refusal. They propose an alternative observation of the world, devoid of “background noise” and resting on attentiveness, compassion and a feeling of identification: observation that creates an opening for a different ethics and a different understanding of the world.
Thus it’s not surprising that many of the works selected for the exhibition are focused on the seamline between nature and culture. Nature is neutral, without intention, implacably set on its course, existing in states of becoming and metamorphosis: evolution, transgression, extinction, renewal. Whereas culture is purposeful, steeped in activity and in the implementation of force and manipulation, obsessed with subjection, control and supervision, occupied with invention and with itself.
The mutual dependence between humanity and nature posits human beings as bearing responsibility for this connection, but even in our crisis-ridden time it appears that humans are choosing to persist in turning away from nature and adhering to a belief that the world belongs to them. Yet the facts repeatedly confirm that humanity’s survivability is inextricably bound up with its approach to nature, and also entails person-to-person relationships. To this end, we need to forgo a sense of supremacy: It is incumbent on us to remember that humanity is only one link in the chain of life and of the universe. Forgetting this fact, or more accurately the process of forgetfulness, produces alienation from the world, which also distances us from one another. In their quiet way, the works in this exhibition reveal the pain that attends this forgetfulness, amid its absurdity and its wrongs on the one hand, and on the other its potential for amelioration.
