As part of the Horizontal Vertigo program at the Julia Stoschek Collection in Düsseldorf, A.K. Burns will restage the first two episodes of Negative Space—A SMEARY SPOT (2015) and LIVING ROOM (2017)—and premiere the third: LEAVE NO TRACE (2019).
Negative Space is a cycle of four interrelated multi-media installations. Conjuring and deconstructing science fiction tropes, Negative Space builds each episode around a physical system: the sun (power), the void/land, water, and body. The worlds within each video germinate from site-specific phenomena, building allegorical structures for each installation. This cycle of works raises questions about how value is allocated, with respect to resources, environmental fragility, marginalized bodies, and their relationship to place…
As a formal term in art, “negative space” denotes the unseen matter between and around the subject. The subject is the focus of our attention, a definable entity. Thereby negative space is considered subordinate to the primacy of the subject. What is compelling about negative space is that it is unfixed, malleable and ultimately an open set of possibilities. I use this concept of negative space as a proposal for re-orientation and an analogy for generating agency within a subjugated position. The premise of the Negative Space tetralogy is to envision a radical cosmology wherein hierarchical relations permute. — A.K. Burns*
In mid-November, Burns will give an artist talk at JSCwith curator Lisa Long, and there will be multiple screenings of Community Action Center, the 2010 video by Burns and A.L. Steiner.
Through December 15.
COMMUNITY ACTION CENTER
Friday through Sunday, November 15, 16, and 17.
Screenings at 12:30 pm, 2 pm, 3:30 pm, and 5 pm.
A.K. BURNS ARTIST TALK
Saturday, November 16, at 3 pm.
JSC Düsseldorf
Schanzenstrasse 54, Düsseldorf.
A.K. Burns, Negative Space, from top: A Smeary Spot, stills (6); A Smeary Spot installation view; Living Room, stills (2); Leave No Trace soundtrack, 2016, unlabeled vinyl record, black nitrile gloves, clear zip-lock bag, silkscreen in white ink with poem printed on reverse, 31:08 minutes, images courtesy and © the artist. A.K. Burns and A.L. Steiner, Community Action Center, stills (2) and, below, poster; images courtesy and © the artists.
