forensic
AFTERMATH ARTEXTRA 7 MAY - 7 JUNE / www.artextra.co.za
Artists: Joni Brenner, Guto Bussab, Natasha Christopher, Adam Davies, Stephen Hobbs, Bronwyn Lace, Churchill Madikida, Sandile Zulu
In his book, Scene of the Crime (1997), curator and theorist Ralph Rugoff discusses artists from the west coast of the States, who, over a period of 35 years, produced a body of work that embraced the logic of forensics - evidentiary markers, traces, and residues that speak of an aftermath of an event, action or happening.
In the introduction to the catalogue, Rugoff outlines his conceptualization of this aesthetic - an artistic practice that suggests a link to forensics, or addresses the art object as if it were a kind of evidence, where emphasis is placed on the viewers role as investigator, and where works often have a trace, or reflect a history, of prior actions and motivations. The use of such an aesthetic offers a moment where we may raise reasonable doubt around any given narrative, or more rhetorically, around the very instability of Narrative as a concept. The word aftermath also refers to the concept of consequence, a given result; the term may also refer to a trauma suffered, or an event endured.
This show seeks to engage with a group of contemporary practitioners who embrace this aesthetic of the aftermath, and whose works are linked by the type of approach they demand from their audience. Taken as a whole, this art puts us in a position akin to that of the forensic anthropologist or scientist, forcing us to speculatively piece together histories that remain largely invisible to the eye. (Rugoff, 62)
Leave a Reply