Brendan Anton Jaks
13 Jun - 25 Jul 2015
© Brendan Anton Jaks
Rick Perry for President, 2015
polyurethane, Epoxy, Cement on wood plate
55 x 35 x 22 cm
photography by Gert Jan van Rooij
Rick Perry for President, 2015
polyurethane, Epoxy, Cement on wood plate
55 x 35 x 22 cm
photography by Gert Jan van Rooij
BRENDAN ANTON JAKS
Who Controls The Smoke Controls The Mirrors
13 June - 25 July 2015
Playstation is proud to invite you to the exhibition ‘Who Controls the Smoke Controls The Mirrors’ of Brendan Anton Jaks.
For the title of his show, Jaks borrowed a line from Christian Hawkey’s experimental poem “N Ear Flowers Re/Fre/nd: A Poet’s Play” (2013). Jaks reads the poem as a frenetic tale of a character trying to make sense of the world and his place in it; both through physical experience of space and time, but also via events and information that have been mediated via technological devices. While being a direct play on the metaphor ’smoke and mirrors’, the phrase also reflects the experience of making objects whose use value is dictated by their ability to survive as a commodity within an economy of attention.
In his exhibition Jaks shows two series of works. These quite diverse works represent two radically different outcomes that, however, are the result of questioning similar issues of space, identity, and the politics of objects. At first glance, several ‘flat’ canvases of multi-layered plastic creating a zigzag and meandering pattern, resemble photographic prints on a matte surface. It is not until you get close that you begin to grasp their physicality, yet they still don’t completely reveal their making.
In contrast, the second body of work consists of sculptural assemblages. Intertwined, curving forms of polyurethane, epoxy and silica are enclosed by carefully positioned grey bricks of cement. They embrace their physicality – hiding nothing of their making – yet seem to suffer from a crisis of identity. With names like “Halloween Selfie”; “Hillary Clinton for President”; “Rick Perry for President”; they prompt loose associations with the act of promoting an image of oneself to a wider public through social media outlets.
Brendan Anton Jaks (1983, Yuba City, USA) lives and works in Amsterdam. Jaks studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie and is resident artist at De Ateliers, Amsterdam.
Recent exhibitions include: 'Elephant in the shipping house (Simply Wild)' Jenifer Nails, Frankfurt (2015); ‘Apéritifs’ Château Shatto, Los Angeles (2014); ‘Absent cycle par Immaterial Collection’ 22ruemuller, Paris (2014); ‘New Participants’ De Ateliers, Amsterdam (2014); ‘Absent-minded young typist’ Rongwrong, Amsterdam (2014); ‘Genuine Articles’ Jupiter Woods, London (2014); ‘Screen Play’ SW3G Gallery, Glasgow (2014); ‘Goodbye Lucas’ Amstel 41, Amsterdam (2013); ‘OMG’ Oudekerk, Amsterdam (2012)
Who Controls The Smoke Controls The Mirrors
13 June - 25 July 2015
Playstation is proud to invite you to the exhibition ‘Who Controls the Smoke Controls The Mirrors’ of Brendan Anton Jaks.
For the title of his show, Jaks borrowed a line from Christian Hawkey’s experimental poem “N Ear Flowers Re/Fre/nd: A Poet’s Play” (2013). Jaks reads the poem as a frenetic tale of a character trying to make sense of the world and his place in it; both through physical experience of space and time, but also via events and information that have been mediated via technological devices. While being a direct play on the metaphor ’smoke and mirrors’, the phrase also reflects the experience of making objects whose use value is dictated by their ability to survive as a commodity within an economy of attention.
In his exhibition Jaks shows two series of works. These quite diverse works represent two radically different outcomes that, however, are the result of questioning similar issues of space, identity, and the politics of objects. At first glance, several ‘flat’ canvases of multi-layered plastic creating a zigzag and meandering pattern, resemble photographic prints on a matte surface. It is not until you get close that you begin to grasp their physicality, yet they still don’t completely reveal their making.
In contrast, the second body of work consists of sculptural assemblages. Intertwined, curving forms of polyurethane, epoxy and silica are enclosed by carefully positioned grey bricks of cement. They embrace their physicality – hiding nothing of their making – yet seem to suffer from a crisis of identity. With names like “Halloween Selfie”; “Hillary Clinton for President”; “Rick Perry for President”; they prompt loose associations with the act of promoting an image of oneself to a wider public through social media outlets.
Brendan Anton Jaks (1983, Yuba City, USA) lives and works in Amsterdam. Jaks studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie and is resident artist at De Ateliers, Amsterdam.
Recent exhibitions include: 'Elephant in the shipping house (Simply Wild)' Jenifer Nails, Frankfurt (2015); ‘Apéritifs’ Château Shatto, Los Angeles (2014); ‘Absent cycle par Immaterial Collection’ 22ruemuller, Paris (2014); ‘New Participants’ De Ateliers, Amsterdam (2014); ‘Absent-minded young typist’ Rongwrong, Amsterdam (2014); ‘Genuine Articles’ Jupiter Woods, London (2014); ‘Screen Play’ SW3G Gallery, Glasgow (2014); ‘Goodbye Lucas’ Amstel 41, Amsterdam (2013); ‘OMG’ Oudekerk, Amsterdam (2012)