Absence as a Way of Seeing: Traces of Existence

Absence in our daily lives is often understood as a lack of presence. Whether we notice it visibly, physically, or emotionally, "absence" as the antithesis to "presence" allows us to feel and interpret the things in our lives with a greater awareness for their existence. Artists may take advantage of this relationship to create meaning through the positive and negative spaces in their work. In this manner, we begin to approach the focus of this exhibition, the traces of existence.Traces can be thought of as the marks or impressions made by an entity throughout its existence. If an entity exists as positive space, then their traces exist in the negative space surrounding it. Within the context of artistic practice, an emphasis on negative space became particularly important for sculptors in the 20th century. As both a medium, and an entity to be shaped by one’s work, space itself became a significant concept such that these artists sought to approach the emptiness of space itself as the subject of their work. What was pertinent was no longer just the presence of something, but its lack thereof as well.¹ In this way, a deliberate focus on negative space meant that viewers would come to interpret and understand a given subject not through its mere physical being, but through the impressions that it creates in the space around it. One of the most prominent contemporary artists to explore such an approach to spatial dynamics and meaning in three-dimensional artwork is Rachel Whiteread. Throughout much of her work, Whiteread confronts ideas of permanence and ephemerality by creating physical manifestations of negative space in cast plaster. From this inverted perspective, the textures, imperfections, and materials lifted from the surfaces touched by the plaster become exposed to viewers. Thus, the presence of impressions and material artifacts in the absence of their creators evoke considerations for the subtleties of daily existence.²In a similar manner, the traces present throughout the artwork within this exhibition are derived from an entity's components or characteristics. How these constituents manifest in the impressions they create have become subjects through which each of the artist here seeks to communicate to viewers at large.

Immersive Communication: Traces in Installation

An event experienced first-hand will often leave a deeper impression on our minds and bodies than one understood through imagination alone. This is an important idea that not only underscores the nature of Installation art itself, but within this exhibition, it is also a means through which each artist seeks to communicate their ideas.A relatively new artform, the growth of Installation began in the late 20th century, as artists began to focus on the creation of immersive experiences through their work. This shift in artistic practice holds similarities with developments in contemporary sculpture, wherein artists became more engaged with the spatial context in which their work was displayed.³ As sculptor Katarzyna Kobro put it, the perception of a given space is the direct result of each individual sense. As a result, one’s greatest understanding of a space may derive from a coalescence of all or multiple sensorial experiences.⁴ Similarly, art historian Claire Bishop notes that, by virtue of its scale, temporality, and spatial specificity, Installation particularly requires the presence of, and participation of the viewer through their full range of senses.⁵ In short, an attunement to the potential experiences and sensorial perceptions that take place in the space surrounding one's work has become a significant consideration for contemporary artists working in three dimensions.Of course, this approach is not without its reasons. Igshaan Adams' work on desire lines is a fascinating example that demonstrates the significance of this experiential approach to making. His sculptural tapestries, like Mapping Yvonne’s Kitchen (2021) or his installation for Kicking Dust at the Hayward Gallery in 2018, condense the super-structures of desire lines present across South Africa's land into the scale of a gallery room. Thus, by delivering the narratives behind the desire line in publicly accessible installations, this body of Adams' work increases the salience with which viewers are able to physically encounter, and thus sensorially engage with, the social histories embedded upon the country’s landscape. Indeed, by allowing us to walk through and experience a given work, installations like Adams' hold a particular propensity for being able to engage audiences through a myriad of senses. It is the full immersion that occurs within these spaces that consequently allows artists to truly captivate audiences and effectively communicate to them. Throughout Tracing Existences, Installation in this manner serves as an effective means through which each artist delivers meaning. Their respective installations allow audiences to engage both their minds and senses as they seek to understand the intentions behind each trace present within their individual works.

Bibliography

1. Weibel, Peter. Negative Space: Trajectories of Sculpture in the 20th and 21st Centuries. Print. Edited by Anett Holzheid. Translated by Peter Robertson, Dan Lawler, and Patrick Hubenthal. 1st ed. Germany: ZKM Center for Art and Media, 2021. 14, 621.

2. Whiteread, Rachel, and Richard Noble. “The Meaning of What Remains.” Print. In Rachel Whiteread : Walls Doors Floors (and) Stairs, edited by Eckhard Schneider, 1st ed., 66–67. New York, NY, United States of America: Distributed Art Publishers (D.A.P), 2005.

3. Ellegood, Anne. “Motley Efforts: Sculpture’s Ever-Expanding Field.” Print. In Vitamin 3-D : New Perspectives in Sculpture and Installation, edited by Nancy Adajania, 6–13. New York, NY, United States of America: Phaidon, 2009.

4. Moholy-Nagy, László. “The New Bauhaus and Space Relationships.” Print. In Composing the Space: Sculptures in the Avant-Garde, 81-88. London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Koenig Books Ltd., 2019.

5. Bishop, Claire. Installation Art: A Critical History. Print. London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Tate Publishing, 2005.

Surface Explorations I