Jazmin López:
The Great Dane
Transmitter
September 17—October 16, 2022
Opening reception: Friday, September 16, 6-8 pm
In partnership with Transmitter.
The installation is based on the Surrealist film Un Chien Andalou—a 1929 French silent short film written by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí, and directed by Buñuel. In the original scene, recreated in The Great Dane exhibition, two dead donkeys rest on two grand pianos in a room occupied by the main female character of Buñuel’s film. Like in the entirety of the 16-minute film, the recreated scene is surprising and bizarre. The construction of the film itself was based on extracting images from dreams “bypassing consciousness.” The idea for López’s new work is to extract, as dreams do, an element from the film.
In the installation at Transmitter, the artist does the same movement, she extracts a dream-like element and exposes it isolated, alone, similarly to a collage action. To bring up the issue of dreams, and dream-like settings, López has chosen to substitute the dead donkeys (like in dreams) with two live dogs wandering around the gallery.
The gallery floor is covered with a dark blue rug and all the walls are covered with dark blue curtains—a color symbolizing peace and protection from evil, amongst other things. All of this is to emphasize the theatrical aspect of the gesture. In the middle two grand pianos occupy the gallery and the viewer is invited to wander around and dream. Like in many of her on-screen works, Jazmin López explores the death drive through less or more surreal gestures. Like in many of her installations, the artist removes the main character, allowing the viewers to exercise their power of imagination, and immersing them in the experience.
Jazmin López (b. 1984, Buenos Aires, Argentina) is a visual artist and filmmaker based in New York City. She is a graduate of the Universidad del Cine in Buenos Aires and received an MFA in Studio Art from NYU and an MFA in Studio Art at Universidad Torcuato Di Tella. She is represented by Ruth Benzacar Gallery, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her first feature film Leones: 69 was screened at the Venezia Biennale, Viennale, New Directors New Films at MoMA and the Lincoln Center, Centre George Pompidou, and KW Institute Berlin, among many other world film festivals. Her film was featured in Variety and The New York Times. She currently teaches at NYU. Her two most recent exhibitions include Everything is Common at Artists Space organized with Whitney ISP in New York, NY, and Eleanor at Karl Marx Studio in Paris, France, curated by Sofía Lanusse. The artist’s work has also been exhibited at The San Jose Museum of Art (SMJA), and at the 70 Venice Biennale in Italy, amongst others.
Instagram: @pepapigokok