Moon as a Mirror in Search for Life

“A window’s frame encloses the field of vision; it allows us to look into the distance or, quite the opposite, secretly observe the activity taking place within. After staring out a large window that gives onto a brick wall, Jeanette Johns began wondering what was happening in her neighbours’ studios, on the other side of her studio walls. Since gatherings have been reduced as much as possible, the artist imagines another mode of connecting through a life-size reproduction of the arched window in her studio, in which she has replaced the glass by mirrors. Set on the ground and tilted to face the upper floors of the studio building, Moon as Mirror in Search for Life offers an astute mise en abyme in which the artist can observe her own and others’ reflections, guess their presence inside the building by seeing their lights on. While our current human experience is characterized by distance, Johns explores the symbolism of this mirror-window as a means of communication, reflecting that life in the studio continues in isolation and out of the public gaze.”

- Milly-Alexandra Dery – Curator of Tout se confond, apparaît, puis s’efface de nouveau (Everything Merges, Emerges, then Fades Again) Place Publique in Winter at the Fonderie Darling Feb 11 2021 - April 11 2021.