Waiting for Agatha, Sebastian and the rest of the holy children – Unfolding a filmic research
INDEX, The Swedish Contemporary Art Foundation, Stockholm
2 September – 13 December 2021

Pauline Curnier Jardin’s first solo exhibition at INDEX took place in Sweden on Thursday, September 2nd, 2021.

For the exhibition, Index transforms into a hybrid space between presentation and production where visitors can observe Curnier Jardin’s previous films and gain insight into her ongoing working process for the production of a forthcoming film. Hence, the exhibition takes as a starting point an artwork that actually doesn’t exist, but through the inclusion of a selection of completed works by the artist and information about her practice, one can previsualize options for what it could possibly become.

The exhibition space conceptually supports the upcoming work’s production, functioning as a changing ma-chine rather than offering a defined result. Some aspects of this future artwork will be developed during the exhibition time through production gatherings where reference materials will be observed and collected for the artist to use. The Index team will be working on-site to gather information and facilitate the production of this new work.

Visiting Pauline Curnier Jardin’s exhibition means the opportunity to witness and contribute to the seed of an artist’s idea while simultaneously experiencing previous pieces from Curnier Jardin’s filmic and artistic oeuvre.

Pauline Curnier Jardin works with films and installation offering unexpected ways to understand narrative. She includes historical references, symbolic content, operatic gestures, musical scores, performativity and several approaches to desire and repulsion which in turn raise questions about feelings, ideas and information. Her layered practice moves from physicality to sensitivity, from image culture to secret languages, from surrealistic chaos to narrative structure. Opera or Classical theatre could be possible symbolic frames for Curnier Jardin’s work as it emotionally and subjectively moves the spectator.

 

Pauline Curnier Jardin, Still from teaser for Sebastiano Blu, 2018, film, 40 min, Courtesy of the artist

Pauline Curnier Jardin, Still from Teetotum, 2017, Film, 4 min, Courtesy of the artist

Pauline Curnier Jardin, Still from Viola Melon, 2013, Courtesy of the artist

Pauline Curnier Jardin, Still from The Lady Weather Speakerine, 2015, Courtesy of the artist