As far as I can gather
from November 19, 2023 – June 2, 2024, by jasna guy
from As far as I can gather by jasna guy
The phrase “as far as I can gather” suggests a sharing of information discovered in an indirect way. “To gather” is a bringing together, an assemblage, an accumulation from a range of sources. When we gather, we pick up, we harvest, and we pull something into our arms. Gather also means to infer or to understand.
The work in this exhibition emerges out of extensive research and fieldwork. When I enter a meadow, that ecosystem envelops me, I surrender to the beauty of my surroundings. I became aware of the visible and invisible systems at work within this particular place. The embodied practice of research and fieldwork is a means of looking closely and thinking deeply.
I collect specimens to bring back to my studio and I use a range of tools, materials, and techniques to continue my contemplation A microscope brings me closer to the intricate structures invisible to the naked eye. I draw, photograph, and scan my samples, and this handling further deepens my understanding.
The work’s scale, from the microscopic to the gigantic, suggests different approaches, and different ways of understanding what is seen. A physical and embodied response is required, an expansion that emphasizes the significance and value of these ecosystems that surround us.
My practice is a movement between art and science. The different modes of representation— photography, digital scans, and drawing—as well as the diverse materials I use to produce the images and texts, reflect the sensory experience of my encounters with the natural world and its effect on me. Each way of looking is a unique experience.
The assemblage that makes up as far as I can gather remains a work-in-progress, a provisional repository of information, uncertain and incomplete. There is always more to be seen and understood.
This work is an invitation to appreciate, acknowledge, and celebrate that complex and magnificent world that surrounds us. We are part of this, we are also deeply and unalterably responsible for its future.