Adèle Essle Zeiss, Tyngdspegel, October 16 - Dec 19 (Curator: Richard Julin) Jonathan Baldock, Warm Inside, October 16- Dec 19 (Curator: Therese Kellner) Acclerator, Stockholm
Jonathan Baldock, Warm Inside, Accelerator
Adèle Essle Zeiss, Tyngdspegel, Accelerator
Bodies - whether inhabited by humans or representations of the human seated in sculpture - suspended in air and relating to each other as members and units of a whole - runs as the common denominator between the two new solos opening at Accelerator. The artists are London-based Jonathan Baldock and still farly recent MFA graduate of the Royal Institute of Art; Adèle Essle Zeiss. Jonathan was saying at the press viewing how an intent to work with aerially suspended sculptures stems quite back in time by now and how that wish finally materialized by way of the exhibition at hand. His cocoon-silhouette sculptures - textile-based at apparent level but in essence an entanglement of materials - hovering over ground for sure inspire a certain aesthetical and crafty sense of awe. The mentioned link between him and Adèle is one that is immediate depending on which of her several multi-performer performances is carried out at your first glance of her exhibition taking stage next door to Jonathan’s. What is more uncanny beyond the immediate however is a sensation you’re struck with increasingly and that hits you at some point; which is how the two exhibitions align also in their imposing slowing-down-ness of time. The visual staging in both is ”sparse” and austere which might sound like a contradiction of the visual display on images of Jonathan's works but the ratio between space and bodies is such that a stillness apparently casts evenly in both rooms (which in turn instead semantically might sound like a contradiction to Adèle’s performative works). I quite enjoyed seeing the visual disposition and architecture of Accelerator in the way I was during two of Adèle's performances. No reliance on visual scenography or decor beyond bodies in action and the bare essentials of the intricate yet visually quite demure supporting structures for strings and harnesses. Scheduling Adèle for a solo here feels very well-considered, like hand in glove situation. What an emerging talent she is with her crossover practice that has taken stage as well outside of the contemporary art core at venues such as MDT and Fylkingen after her graduation. Altogether a take-away for me is the emblematic pull here represented by both exhibitions jointly, whether it was intentional or not, I can't say. And that’s how an equipoise of interests informs both a very private rapport with the self as a nurturing shelter, as well as a recognition of the continuous care and attention that inevitably needs to be afforded the interdependence between you yourself and ”all the rest” around.
Ashik Zaman
For more information about the exhibition:
acceleratorsu.art