"WITNESS | holding time"
Work by Kento Saisho 16 FD will be on view in the group exhibition WITNESS | holding time from March 28–June 4, 2023.
…and I look upon time as no more than an idea, and I consider eternity as another possibility….(1)
The endeavor to hold time is an abstract undertaking. Capturing a moment in memory or comprehending the notion of forever, is a fragile pursuit. Time moves through and around us without boundaries, not waiting for our consideration. To witness, to train our attention, to absorb and embed the moment, is our way of holding time. Then our challenge is how to give it form and substance—a photograph, a journal entry, a memento—and add it to the figurative bank of recollection. From this collective place, artists reconstruct what they have witnessed. They create, in material form, the holding of their experiences. When successful, the viewer is aware of the materiality, the presence of the artist, and the breadth and depth of what has been gathered in the making of the work. We sense what is embedded and not seen. Dan Bailey’s series Observatories planted the curatorial seed of this exhibition and heightened an awareness of how time is filtered through an artistic practice. His images suggest a larger context and question our sense of time. The Observatories images present an alternative to a typical cursory, anthropocentric gaze and snapshot.
“A driving force of the project," Dan states, “is to record the natural world at a duration that is not geared to humans. Though difficult or even impossible to achieve, an intent is to depict landscape where even the lifespan of a tree or the impact of humans is too short to be seen. Those ephemeral events disappear into a blur. Images of both day and night are recorded equally to counter the bias of diurnal vision. The desire is to observe the landscape as it exists over thousands of years. These long views complement the conventional practice of slicing time into smaller and smaller units to dissect an event.”
The six artists in this exhibition have made the act of holding time tangible through unique and deeply resonating works that carry memory and intention.
We need not stop the wheel. But rest in the axis and watch the world go by. (2)
—Kathryn Gremley, Penland Gallery Director
1. Mary Oliver, When Death Comes, 2. Unknown Poet
