the distance

.

THE DISTANCE
 

TEXT BY HUIB HAYE VAN DER WERF, CURATOR AND ARTISTIC PROGRAMMER AT JAN VAN EYCK ACADEMIE (NL), WRITTEN FOR DISCIPLINE OF NOSTALGIA,

SOLO EXHIBITION STÉPHANIE SAADÉ, ADHOC GALERIA, VIGO, SPAIN, 2015.

The distance begins when entering the space. The visitor arrives in a moment of expectation and this pronounces the expanse of the work in

relationship to their physical presence. Only the concept of commemoration will bring these two closer. A cycle of personal attribute lures them nearer.

Determined by the moon and the delicate nature of the artist’s personal corporeality a bond is begun. And yet this relationship is then immediately

undermined by a symbol of separation. A lone historical fragment – once part of a larger certainty - now alone on its own account and aligned with

magnetic autonomy. The distance remains continuous. Where two lines of thread meet is not a celebration of union but a reminder that love is

compelled to the commencement of two individual foundations, each starting at their own end. Love beginning only where these ends join. A distance

met.

The work of Stéphanie Saadé is a promise. The materials she works with take form in the shape of minute tokens of reminiscence. Memories that have

yet to be called upon. The sense of time that they offer is undetermined. Even though their source seems to be her own precise and personal reflection,

they maintain an indistinct familiarity. The apparent delicateness with which their physical attributes have been brought together and the indeterminate

quality of their meaning leave the viewer with the feeling that they are witness to an intimate narrative that could be theirs. Their instantaneous belief of

this notion has them wonder as to the possibility of their own fitting memory. Neither the title, the origin of the work or its material value is definite. It is

their poetic manifestation that  allows for elucidation. Yet it is this form of presence that keeps the audience both close to what it sees and reads, but

uncertain as to its proximity. The distance remains. 

Moon Pills, Stéphanie Saadé, 2015, one pack of 28 contraceptive pills, watercolour.