- Vera Ryklova
Of the Body at Custom House Studios + Gallery, Westport: 26th August to 19th September 2021
photography: Vera Ryklova ©2021
Of the Body was a solo exhibition in which I introduced my two new projects that are still a work-in-progress. The Optimal Distance and the only real thing to do. Although these projects evolved independently, they complement each another. The experience of making Optimal Distance, which intuitively expands on the concept of my previous work, inspired the idea for the only real thing to do.
I decided to reinforce this kind of quality in this exhibition through experimenting with the material I have produced so far. I represented the current stages of the two projects in a way that they, on one hand, referred to a wider sense of a state of incompletion, process, search for resolution. On the other hand, I intertwined all the presented pieces of work in a way that they acted as one - completed - project.
By its nature, Of the Body can be considered a temporary piece of work and its preparation was quite an organic process - to the very last minute of its installation. This may not have been apparent to the eye of the viewer, but it was definitely a thrill for me. I wanted to demonstrate the trajectory of my practice after presenting my Aesthetic Distance in two independent solo exhibitions as well as to manifest the transition in my media - from primarily photographic into lens based. In this sense the show bares a great significance in the development of my practice and I hope that it has excited those, who came to see it, to follow the progress of my new body of work.
The exhibition consisted of four photographic prints and one two-part video piece.
To watch an excerpt from the video piece click here.