TARYN SIMON – PAPERWORK AND THE WILL OF CAPITAL
2016-08-08In her work, Simon combines photography, text, and graphic design, in conceptual projects addressing the production and circulation of knowledge, and the politics of representation. For this latest project, Simon explores the stagecraft of power, examining agreements, contracts, treaties, and decrees drafted to influence systems of governance and economics, from nuclear armement to oil deals and diamond trading.
As the starting points of Paperwork and the Will of Capital, Simon drew inspiration from George Sinclair’s 19th century horticultural study – a book containing dried grass specimens 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.
In uncovering these archival photographs, the artist observed that the attending diplomats were consistently flanked by floral arrangements, arranged to symbolize the importance of the signatories and the institutions they represented. Simon subsequently worked with a botanist to identify and recreate the flowerpieces from the signings. More than 4,000 specimens were shipped to the artist’s New York studio, sourced from the world’s largest flower auction in Aalsmeer, the Netherlands, which receives and distributes approximately 20 million flowers per day. The recreated centerpieces were photographed and cust om 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 photographic still lifes stand in contrast to the sculptural natures mortes: as time advances, so will these artifacts transform, revealing mutable versions of themselves.
Opposite – Gdańsk Agreement, signed at the Gdańsk ship yards, Gdańsk, Poland, on 31 August, 1980, 2015
Exhibition runs through to November 12th, 2017
Almine Rech Gallery
Abdijstraat 20 Rue de l’Abbaye
1050 Brussels
