SCIENTIFIC DOCUMENTS WITH SUBLIMINAL PORNOGRAPHY INSERTED

2011 - 2014 | Video appropriation

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« Following on from the artists’ previous work, the reality offered here is incomplete. Whether we are considering photographic portraits of enigmatic characters or maps of major states in which their identifying place names are cut-out and removed, these works by Gabriel Jones open up a world in which the disappearance or the loss of identity hold prime place.

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The step from extraction to insertion is indeed taken in this collection of films “Scientific documents with subliminal pornography inserted”. The film elements are out of context. These observations provide no sense of location or objective reasoning. The facts are straightforwardly captured, devoid of any aesthetic will. Even so, they include something that escapes us. Some subliminal images are interlaced within the heart of the narrative, invisible yet definitely present. This occulted part of the visible only takes shape because of the explicit title, which accompanies each film. Each image – whether perceptible or not – undeniably unrolls before our eyes. Even though it is concretely impossible to verify their presence, these pornographic images, though present, choose disappear and, moreover, offer a paradox of revealing absence. »

 

- Text by Claire Taillandier. Translated by Georgina Turner