Kirill Lorech

Some of these works are the offspring—perhaps at this point they could be called mutations—of pieces that were produced for my solo show, Off Focus Protocols. The biggest so-called artistic gesture was the selection of the space, which was a very non-gallery like industrial corner in our school with an elevator and a 2nd floor room with a missing wall. 

 

The main idea of placing these pieces within this environment was to create an ambience of uncertainty. The context and framework would carry an alternative notion in order to diffuse the traditional reading of surroundings and negate a feeling or experience that opens up the possibility of a more emotional experience. I’ve termed this possibility “ambient politics”.

 

Bringing these objects into a more traditional viewing space is to some extent a continuation of the research that began with the solo show. This was also one of the main points in the critique that the show received, i.e. speculation regarding how the objects would keep their “world”, and if they would assimilate to new surroundings or become more pronounced. Yet, as this is an interesting approach, I am a bit reserved towards the idea of creating this metanarrative of displacing the parts of the unspecified experience into a more comfortable environment; I am still undecided on how to feel about this. 

 

In addition to this I am showing a few of my paintings that have resulted from various experimentations and material investigations. The largest piece consists of four large foamboards taped in half-open construction that I began at the start of the year. The outcome of the two phases differed in their intentionality and focus. The vertical part of the piece acted as a background for other works over the course of the four weeks; this is somewhat unintentional and unfocused in its form. The horizontal piece lying on the floor tries to emulate this form with a different spectrum of attention and timescale. The smaller paintings are attempts to create a skin-like surface using spray, plastic, and industrial foam.

 

One crucial, and maybe totalizing, feeling that I have been working with that is hard to pinpoint clearly concerns “ambient politics” and whether the concept can be defined as a growing threshold of mutation. I was trying to avoid the “reading the ether” mode, but I do sense this pressure, especially in the context of art.

 

One encounter that I think captures this sentiment is a piece composed by Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen called Ad Cor: No. 3. I Laugh At You Mockingly, with the text by Ursula Andkjær Olsen.