ART-PRESRNTATION: Taryn Simon
Taryn Simon has constructed an ambitious body of work that is the result of an invisible and rigorous process of research and investigation. Her works combine photography, text, and graphic design, in conceptual projects addressing the production and circulation of knowledge, and the politics of representation. Simon interrogates the power and structure of secrecy and the precarious nature of survival.
By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Almine Rech Gallery Archive
As the starting points of “Paperwork and the Will of Capital”, Taryn Simon drew inspiration from the work of George Sinclair, a British imperial gardener of the 19th century that inspired Darwin’s theory of evolution and historical photographs of the signings of political accords between leaders of the 44 countries present at the 1944 United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. Taryn Simon has recreated the floral centrepieces arranged on the tables where 36 international agreements were signed, between 1968 and 2014. For the recreations, the artist worked with a botanist to identify all the flowers from archival records. She imported more than 4000 floral and plant specimens from the Aalsmeer Flower Auction to her studio, where she remade, as far as possible, the floral arrangements from each signing, then photographed them against striking duochromatic fields that reproduce the contrasting foreground and background color schemes visible in the historical records. The recreated centerpieces were photographed and custom framed in mahogany to emulate the style of boardroom furniture. The corresponding floral specimens were subsequently dried, pressed, and sewn into sheets of archival herbarium paper, which Simon displays alongside the photographs. The exhibition invites the viewer to reflect upon the instability of political decision making and the precarious nature of survival. By focusing on the flower arrangements, the photographs underscore how the stagecraft of political and economic power is created, performed, marketed, and maintained.
Info: Almine Rech Gallery, Abdijstraat 20 Rue de l’Abbaye, Brussels, Duration: 8/9-5/11/16, Days & Hours: Tue-Sat 11:00-19:00, www.alminerech.com
