Paradise is Close
Bijan Ramezani, Éric-Oliver Thériault
La Shed, jusqu’au 31 août / until August 31
As we live in this ephemeral time things have drastically changed. The role of the studio and gallery has been put in jeopardy. Moving to remote locations has put a dent in the artists own practice. This exploration may be a challenge, but also a new way to see how the process of art making differs. This new way of working could be an interesting method of making while adapting to anti social behaviour and guidelines. This is an important but yet pivotal time of uncertainty. Not relying on anybody but yourself and the material around you. Tangled up. Everything is tinged with a bit of fraud. I am no streetcar racing rebel, but a sampler, DJ and a Magician. With all good magic tricks it begins with a setup. A Gimmick, a Gimmick is an angle that works for you to keep you from working too hard yourself.
A work in a state of completion just as society is in a state of flux. A state of
stalemate. Everything is mixed up. Now we just have to find a way to glue things back
together. Or even so perhaps there are no rules these days. We have to find them
ourselves. Transformed from an insular scene-hero into the mythic, the inflammatory
figure who challenged the foundations of the academy. The role of the artist. The crook
and crooked image. Gimmick is the new Ipsum Lorem. Toying with the White Cube.
Child’s play. Poetic cynicism . Just waking up and being in the right state of grace is
hard enough. The balance of which you ride the chaos around you. Up to no good.
That’s what the Boomers say to us Millennials. Living seems to be hard enough as is,
Paradise really close or is it an illusion?
Bijan Ramezani, Halifax July 2024
