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Nicole Polonsky
1 – 31 August 2020 lapse:re:lapse The two bodies of work comprising lapse:re:lapse were conceived especially for MOCA London’s online gallery. They arose from a meditation on the screen as both public spectacle and private realm, and image production that flits from hand drawn to print to digital, and between real and virtual. lapse:re:lapse references film ‘leaders’, sections of celluloid stock that allow film to be cued correctly. It focuses on the ‘synchronising leader’ – or numbered countdown – using an early standardised format that scrolls from 11 to 3. In lapse:re:lapse the synchronising leader is reimagined as theme and subject, as main event instead of preamble to it. lapse and re:lapse emerged during lockdown as a cycle of drawings – shown here in their nine iterations – and a film, which can be viewed on Vimeo. Rendered in graphite and coloured pencil on animation paper (whose perforations suggest the sprockets on a reel of film) and then superimposed, the numerals in lapse resonate with each other in a visual overdub. The intersecting forms suggest contingency instead of forward motion. By halting at 3 rather than 1, as convention dictates, Iapse appears to fall short. In re:lapse, frames of numerals flash by in 1/24 of a second. Marks that resulted from meticulous endeavour are consumed in the blink of an eye. Screened as a looped movie, the synchronising leader has mutated from countdown to eternal present. Lacking a satisfying resolution, lapse:re:lapse embodies a very current predicament. Nicole Polonsky is a visual artist whose practice encompasses limited-edition prints, bookworks and multiples; drawing and unique object-making; writing; film, installations and performance. She also devises and produces group projects and exhibitions, and collaborates with other artists to realise cross-disciplinary ventures. Nicole is drawn to matter that has been overlooked, erased, marginalised or considered banal. She has an enduring interest in stuff that is impermanent, experiences that are fleeting, dashed expectations, minor let-downs and lost causes. Nicole gained her BA at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, University of Oxford, and MA Print at the Royal College of Art. She has shown extensively throughout her career. Exhibitions include The Book as Art, Georgia USA (2020); ACE-funded Lighting Up Time, Newcastle UK (solo, 2019); A Pollock’s Gallimaufry, London UK (co-curator and participant, 2019); The Contemporary Print, Texas USA (2018); Y not I, London UK (solo, 2018). Nicole’s artworks are held in private collections internationally. Her original prints and artist's books have been acquired by Museum of Modern Art (USA); MACBA (Catalonia/Spain); Victoria and Albert Museum, Manchester Metropolitan University, Essex County Council, Chelsea College of Arts Library and the Poetry Library (UK), among other public institutions. The artist’s work has been featured in a number of publications including Creative Review, Art Monthly, Printmaking Today and Attitude, as well as Michael Petry's The Word is Art (Thames & Hudson). Nicole lives and works in London. Vimeo: re:lapse Instagram: @mocalondon_we www.nicolepolonsky.com |
Image List
lapse, 2020 Cycle of nine drawings in nine iterations Graphite and coloured pencil on animation paper 267 x 328mm each 1. 11109876543 2. 10987654311 3. 98765431110 4. 87654311109 5. 76543111098 6. 65431110987 7. 54311109876 8. 43111098765 9. 31110987654 Photo credit: Matthew Booth All images copyright and courtesy of the artist |