Please，Do Mind The Gap

Please, Do Mind The Gap

Artist:June Fischer

Curator:Xie Yu

2023.07.22-2023.10.09

“Please, Do Mind The Gap.” is the first solo exhibition in China by Swiss artist June Fischer. This exhibition encompasses multidimensional creations in photography, sculpture, installation, and literature. Fischer’s artworks are interdisciplinary, using multiple materials and mediums. While materiality has boundaries, the ways in which things connect have no limitations. Symbols that hover above the surface are awakened as separate entities. The recombination of different materials and elements generates entirely new contexts, allowing us to find fresh interpretations beyond conventional understanding.

In the first part of the exhibition, June uses automatic writing to create the script “Stuzzicadenti” combining words written unconsciously. Stripped of its context or anticipated possibilities, this manuscript reflects the complex fusion of June’s memories, emotions, and associations. Her artworks extract words from it, attempting to present them in a tangible form.

“How do you preserve a video or performance? What forms of expression can represent a video? How can you present it in a non-traditional way? And how can you integrate it into your work? Where do the boundaries between sculpture, painting, and video art lie?” These are questions June constantly asks herself, inspiring her to experiment and transcend these boundaries.

The modular presentation of ceramic pieces in the exhibition stems from June’s fictional narrative, where patterns from screen printing and sculptures intertwine. Chaotic imagery blends with the interaction and diffusion among different materials and textures. Frames typically used to restrict and contain images are deconstructed, breaking the space between two surfaces and extending the boundaries.

In the second part of the exhibition, the artist reconnects with her childhood dream of becoming a marine biologist and explores detailed studies of bare branches. Based on her selection of different species, June showcases the captivating optical features of caterpillars, which often emit toxic signals to deter predators. She imparts lifelike characteristics onto lifeless, rigid ceramic organisms.

Caterpillars serve as the theme in the new works, symbolizing transient embodiments and emphasizing the process of transformation, reminding us of unchangeable destinies. The artist reflects on human desires, the perception of individual beauty, and the futile attempts to preserve moments that are fleeting.

Everything we are trained to comprehend can be explained. However, at this very moment, all interpretations seem futile and foolish. The meanings, boundaries, spaces, and time of chaotic materials, images, and videos are being shattered and recombined. Perhaps we do not need everything to have attached meanings or a complete plan, nor do we require things to be in their correct positions. Right now, we have our own rules, our own grammar, and our own spirit.

——Written by Xie Yu and Sean Tien