feAture kris martin
steel ball that is engraved with the statement ‘Will explode 2104’, a
confirmation of the fact that this otherwise beautifully minimal piece
is in fact a time bomb, primed to go off once its fairytale moment of
Works
(In order of appearance)
100 years’ sleep expires. Who would buy such a thing? One wonders
of course about the consequences of such an acquisition: will the
All Saints, 2007
glass domes, dimensions variable,
collector’s heirs in years to come forget about the portent of this edition of 3 + 1ap
otherwise unassuming object? Could it sit overlooked until the terrible
Vase, 2005
day when its auto-destructive nature is made apparent? chinese porcelain, glue, 225 cm (height)
Many, if not in fact all, of Martin’s works address time. Whether
Mandi VIII, 2006
the historical presence of contemporary Europe, where Martin is plaster, 220 x 150 x 100 cm, edition of 3 + 1ap
based, or the immaterial time of the soul, the chronology is beyond
100 Years, 2004 (installation view)
our full comprehension. Martin has stated that his interest in history is 10 bombs will explode in 2104, mixed media,
a natural result of his location. “I enjoy the enormous advantage to live
20 cm (circumference), edition of 10 + 1ap
in the centre of Europe,” he states. “When I look out of the window in All works
my studio in Ghent, located on a little square, I see nothing but history.
photo: achim kukulies, düsseldorf
courtesy sies + Höke, düsseldorf
The houses surrounding the square were built in the seventeenth,
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Jan van Eyck’s studio is 50 metres
La Lettre Perdue, 2007, envelope
Mandi XVII, 2007, bottle of ink
from mine… This is the scene of my everyday life. And my life is now. photo: robi rodriguez
It is the task of every human to try to see this little life in a historical
perspective, for it is the condition to become conscious of oneself. I am
here and I am now. I am a product of history and of today, but today is a
product of yesterday.” It is perhaps Martin’s respect for this past and the
relative humility that one senses in his work in regard to the individual’s
position in a world of things, thoughts and feelings, that allows his work
to be so poignantly affective. Watching the constantly turning flaps
of the eternally blank flip clock in Martin’s Mandi III (2003), we wait
expectantly for ‘meaning’ or content to be provided, only to be forced
to acknowledge that we must determine our own point of departure
and destination with this work as indeed with much of life.
Kris Martin’s exhibition at P.S.1, New York, runs until 7 January. See Listings
for further details
47 Artreview
Kris Martin.indd 47 29/11/07 10:37:22
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