‘Confinement in Berlin’, created in April 2020 during lockdown. Born of these troubled times, the series nonetheless brings with it a surge of colour and optimism. Jessica worked in isolation from her apartment, describing her experience as “a moment of pause and reflection”, a time to experiment.
“Wer Nicht Denken Will Fliegt Raus.”
(Who is Unwilling to Think is Dismissed)
_ JOSEPH BEUYS
She chose it for its radicalism and relevance in these times of post-truth politics. Enter Covid 19 and, for both of us, those words resonated stronger than ever.
I began delving into links between Beuys and Backhaus’ ideologies, and found a unifying thread in how their art can be seen as a “conscious act”, inseparable from everyday life. Jessica transforms carefully selected objects from her surroundings into photographic studies. She gives these objects a soul “…making so exquisitely visible what we are too distracted to notice” (Antonio Skármeta, ‘Jessica Backhaus – Far Away But Close’). Beuys believed that, “…even peeling a potato can be a work of art” as long as it is a conscious act. These synergies led to a desire to bring Jessica’s work into the ‘Guest Room’ curation, resulting in this illuminating series made during her ‘Confinement in Berlin’.
Born of these troubled times, the series nonetheless brings with it a surge of colour and optimism. Over three weeks, Jessica worked in isolation from her apartment. Describing her experience of this time as a moment of pause and reflection, she used it to experiment.
“To a certain degree, I embraced the limitations of space. I was forced to look carefully at what is surrounding me.”
_ BACKHAUS
The series includes ten tightly composed images, each revealing abalance of colour, light and shadow, composed of minimal elements. Jessica intentionally makes blunt references to Beuys; ‘Lightbulb’ and ‘Lemons’ inspired by his ‘Capri Battery’ (1985); ‘Telephone’ by ‘Das Erdtelefon’ (1967) and ‘Chairs’ and ‘Butter’ a playful nod to his ‘Chair with Fat’ (1963). Each work has a physical presence: small in size, tactile in feel, a talisman with mystical powers. The two black & white images bring tension to the harmony, some toughness amid the joy and a moment to pause in the flow. As a collection, the interplay of colour and form alongside layered references give the series greater force.
Jessica’s ‘Chairs’ is particularly poignant. Their emptiness, their aloneness, their isolation reflects a collective anxiety we have all felt at some point during the pandemic. There is widespread uncertainty about the future. Nations have been paralysed by Covid-19, and minority communities within them particularly hard-hit by medical and financial inequalities. Jessica’s work ‘Bread’ speaks to this – the frenzy for making sourdough became a symbol for the privileged during lockdown, a comforting yet luxurious pastime, while many around the world were struggling to feed their families.
As we ask ourselves how we can enact change, Beuys’ utopian ideology reflects the zeitgeist. We witness glimmers of hope through demonstrations of solidarity with individuals and communities finding ways to help each other. And we keep faith with art, which has the power to unite and transform us in times of crisis.
‘Confinement in Berlin’ reveals beauty and meaning in everyday objects. The series captures traces of a life in quarantine, where our attention was, for a short while, sharpened to our surroundings.
_ Diana Poole, Zürich, 2020
COLLECTOR’S BOX
Includes the full series:
10 mounted, signed photographs,
Edition of 5 + 2 AP’s
