Yvon Chabrowski’s new exhibition subverts the gallery screen

 With multiple projects displayed, Chabrowski creates a borderline space of video and sculpture 

For nearly half a century, the screen has been the primary technology used when displaying moving images within the gallery. Television screens brought video art into the gallery space, and ever since, the use of digital equipment has been seen across art genres and mediums. This is the case for Yvon Chabrowski and her four award winning works; Horizontal, Swaying, Level and The Appropriate Body.

Situated Knowledges or the Attempt of an Encounter is the Berlin-born artist’s latest exhibition, displayed at the Dorothée Nilsson Gallery, Berlin from 29 May to 10 July . Chabrowski decontextualises the screen, transforming it into a statue. She pulls the television off the wall, turning it into an invasive figure scattered across the gallery. They act as sculptures, taking up space, pushing beyond the wall and into the human-occupied room. They force confrontation with the viewer, demanding to be seen.

At the heart of the exhibition, and Chabrowski’s practice, is the invention of a performative space beyond the screen. There is no neutral standpoint–  the viewer has to interact with the space to fully view the works. In Level, a recorded film of a performer suspended from a glass plate hangs midway from the ceiling. In Horizontal, another performer seemingly lies inside the screen, resting against the glass a meter above the ground. Locating oneself amongst Chabrowski’s mediations becomes the exhibition itself, blurring the lines between viewer and viewed.

Yvon Chabrowski– Situated Knowledges or the Attempt of an Encounter opens at the Dorothée Nilsson Gallery May 29.

Chabrowski.info