To Whom It May
Concern:
Currently I am completing my Masters
degree - under the tutelage of Imogen Stidworthy, Rosalind Nashashibi, Chris
Evans, Bedwyr Williams and a few other smart fuckers - in Fine Art at Liverpool
John Moores University. I have been invigorated (and unsettled, and confused,
and challenged) by the experience. I am grateful that so many of my darlings
have been killed off; making way and making space for an unpredictable and
exciting future.
And having spent the
past 20 years embracing a frankly wayward, albeit productive, path I have enjoyed
and embraced being enrolled, being taught a lesson and being ‘on course’.
I had spent over a
decade working with others, primarily in Johannesburg and Cape Town - in a
series of intense collaborative learning exercises of my own making - before
going solo some years ago. Through this I came to know the value of what can
come from relinquishing myself to the relationship knowing that our combination
would conjure up a third voice; this peculiar voice that whispers unnecessary
solutions.
And aside from
learning how to make and represent things I have been privy to diverse
conceptual practices that have enabled me to tackle life from a nonjudgmental,
paraconsistent, non-binary stance.
You could say that
I now operate in the territory of 'expanded cinema'. For me this means that my
cinema (read projection / motion picture) is accompanied by things and stuff as
well as the environment playing a role - basically an installation of sorts.
This term seems apt; it accommodates not only my video work but also things,
performances and texts.
I ask myself if the
Artist can play the role of truth-teller and be an example of being human?
Should the Artist - who according to Cameroonian philosopher Achille Mbembe
enjoys "special rights" - take on as he puts it "the task to
translate society back to itself"?
I suggest we all pluck
something from Roland Barthes: the notion of a 'third meaning', and use this as
a way of looking at things from an "obtuse" angle. To be clear he
brings in the 'third meaning' as a potential way of seeking meaning beyond the
informational and symbolic.
He attempts to define
this third level as follows - "As for the other meaning, the third, the
one 'too many', the supplement that my intellection cannot succeed in
absorbing, at once persistent and fleeting, smooth and elusive, I propose to
call it 'the obtuse meaning'. The word springs readily to mind and, miracle,
when its etymology is unfolded, it already provides us with a theory of the
supplementary meaning. 'Obtusus means that which is blunter , rounded in
form'" he goes on to say that we can "Take away the obtuse
meaning and communication and signification still remain, still circulate,
still come through: without it, I can still state and read". Roland
adds that "the obtuse meaning can be seen as an accent, the very form
of an emergence, of a fold (a crease even) marking the heavy layer of
informations and significations. If it could be described (a contradiction in
terms), it would have exactly the nature of the Japanese haiku - anaphoric
gesture without significant content, a sort of gash rased [sic?] of
meaning (of desire for meaning)."
The very nature of his
proposal of a third meaning attracts my attention. It is no less slippery than
his notion of the Neutral for him to pin down and it is this 'openness' that makes it so apt
a tool for focusing one’s attention and finding seeds for thought.
For me, working
through art is a way and a place to interrogate and reveal the notion of Truth.
It is not only about hard facts but also the poetry of time, life, death,
transformation, desire, rebellion, freedom and conscious and unconscious
choice. Remembering that even the Truth can be erratic. My work encourages me
to be not merely innovative and build on what exists but to improvise and be
inventive and to be available when uncalled-for newness appears.
Rather that
being distressed by the state of affairs I have embraced the unsettling energy
and am driven to investigate, experiment and ultimately share my findings about
the world we live in.
And I do share my
findings in the form of Art. In another place I may be called something other
than an artist, perhaps a surveillance officer with an inbox and an outbox.
That said, I am what I am and seek no permission or authorisation to do what I
do. My rule is simple - stay awake, keep your eyes open, take note, think
things through and publish (as in make public - anything from having a
conversation or an exhibition or literally publishing a book). I thank Art -
not 'thank god' or 'thank fuck' - for helping me help myself and in turn
(hopefully) help others find some clarity, resolution and reasons to move about.
Albeit that I encourage
others to use my work to help trigger thinking about their own concerns I do
have concerns of my own: the mental health of society (as in everyone attaining
an agility in tackling life in a non-binary way), the ecology of time (specifically
how we spend our time) and the role that culture plays in thinking for us all
(not only in the sense that we rely partly on culture to inform us but also
what kind of thinking does it encourage - one may assume that it is creativity
but it is also the place that dogmas are propagated).
Fortunately works of
art are expected to say what they have to say and also accommodate multiple
interpretations. I can only assume that what I share inspires others to unfold
and open up. If not, it is at least a series of examples of mindful artistic
experimentation, and proof that one needs neither deadlines nor a belief system
to be doing your thing.
Looking forward…
Christian Nerf
