On the flip side was that which seemed to be the same but wasn’t quite. Flipping to the B-side was at once a continuation but also a disruption. The back was the place of hidden things, obscured by brightness, claiming space in the duality of A and B – the front and the back. On the other side, like the feeling of looking underwater, everything was glimmering, unsteady. While still within reach, what was underneath the surface was distant, its essence disguised. Somewhat akin to when unluckily, the other side of the coin faced upwards. The side you did not wish to see, the one you refused to accept. But after all, it takes a negative to obtain a positive, that clear image you intended. So it was different but it was also the same all along.
On the flip side was simultaneously belonging and displacement. It was recognising the familiar, only to find the unknown within. The front is ontologically reliant on its backside, and though its sameness is undeniable, its inherent otherness is, too. However, if the dual nature of a place, an entity, a feeling, is perfectly logical, then where does uncanniness creep in? Our belief in singular truth, unambiguous objecthood, and infallible reason is ingrained in normative thought to the extent that the very ideas conveyed in this text seem blurry and intangible. Yet, we find proof of their existence in the visual language of the everyday. The imagery at play – coins, vinyls, photographs – put a name to the face which is otherwise a feeling. This is an exercise in tautology, frowned upon for its alleged wrongness, out of fear of logical redundancy and nonsense. But do words really mean the same thing; or does something hide in the duality of likeness? Depending on how you cut the ribbon, it might be in celebration or destruction. How does a singular cut unveil and celebrate, while another leaves the show in ribbons?
Contemplating the relationship between the front and the back, the clear and the blurred, this exhibition brings together works that conjure the uncanny feeling of having landed on the flipside. Whether through medium, technique, motif or sensation, they evoke a sense of uncertainty while searching for solace in visual and conceptual illusions. On the flip side was blurred emotion and dual creatures. At the back – of a space and an artwork – there was both comfort and unease. In the tautological gaps, the only way out is through.
Press Release by Kollective Collective
With artists: Malcolm Bradley, Sophie Lourdes Knight, Catinca Malaimare & Salvatore Pione.
On the flip side was that which seemed to be the same but wasn’t quite. Flipping to the B-side was at once a continuation but also a disruption. The back was the place of hidden things, obscured by brightness, claiming space in the duality of A and B – the front and the back. On the other side, like the feeling of looking underwater, everything was glimmering, unsteady. While still within reach, what was underneath the surface was distant, its essence disguised. Somewhat akin to when unluckily, the other side of the coin faced upwards. The side you did not wish to see, the one you refused to accept. But after all, it takes a negative to obtain a positive, that clear image you intended. So it was different but it was also the same all along.
On the flip side was simultaneously belonging and displacement. It was recognising the familiar, only to find the unknown within. The front is ontologically reliant on its backside, and though its sameness is undeniable, its inherent otherness is, too. However, if the dual nature of a place, an entity, a feeling, is perfectly logical, then where does uncanniness creep in? Our belief in singular truth, unambiguous objecthood, and infallible reason is ingrained in normative thought to the extent that the very ideas conveyed in this text seem blurry and intangible. Yet, we find proof of their existence in the visual language of the everyday. The imagery at play – coins, vinyls, photographs – put a name to the face which is otherwise a feeling. This is an exercise in tautology, frowned upon for its alleged wrongness, out of fear of logical redundancy and nonsense. But do words really mean the same thing; or does something hide in the duality of likeness? Depending on how you cut the ribbon, it might be in celebration or destruction. How does a singular cut unveil and celebrate, while another leaves the show in ribbons?
Contemplating the relationship between the front and the back, the clear and the blurred, this exhibition brings together works that conjure the uncanny feeling of having landed on the flipside. Whether through medium, technique, motif or sensation, they evoke a sense of uncertainty while searching for solace in visual and conceptual illusions. On the flip side was blurred emotion and dual creatures. At the back – of a space and an artwork – there was both comfort and unease. In the tautological gaps, the only way out is through.
Press Release by Kollective Collective
With artists: Malcolm Bradley, Sophie Lourdes Knight, Catinca Malaimare & Salvatore Pione.