MISE EN ABYME

A small feeling tells us this exhibition was propelled by a canon of misunderstandings, fuelled by ever-mounting enthusiasm that spun them past logic and into the form that is now manifest in this room.

Mise en Abyme is composed from an object-based conversation between Alain and Plat-, a game so open-ended it possessed barely one agreed-upon rule. While oscillating contributions created the constellation of objects that can now be viewed, the relations between these objects remain wholly undisclosed. Therefore, while Plat- knows the relationship between a pearl and a paint-tube, the artist does not. And while Alain knows the relationship between a font and a feather, we can solely interpret them by their pictorial cues. 

Some artworks are not intended to be entirely contemplated – purposefully orchestrated to render the impossibility of an overall view. But while this conduct assumes the privileged position of knowing from the artist, here Alain dares to give that up too. Questioning assumptions of artist, audience, mediator or room, Mise en Abyme has built Plǝt- into another reality: in which the content of the painting has been curated; and where the painting has become the sculptor of the room. While life is inherently ephemeral and in movement, for the duration of Mise en Abyme life at Plǝt- will be perceptively slowed. By hosting a constellation of objects, Alain’s painting builds a pictorial image; and it is this image that the room, subsequently, is ordered to reflect.

Plǝt-

'L'Internationale'. Oil on linen on board. London 2018.

'Mise en Abyme' exhibition view. Plǝt- (Amsterdam).

'L'Internationale' music box at Plǝt- (Amsterdam).

'Mise en Abyme'. Plǝt- (Amsterdam).

'Mise en Abyme' project view. Plǝt- (Amsterdam).

'Mise en Abyme' project view. Plǝt- (Amsterdam).