Premises

The starting point of the exhibition Premises is a process that has emerged around the exhibition space and artist residency la Dépendance on the outskirts of the southern Jurassic municipality of St. Imier. The project, which has been in existence since 2018 and maintains a residency program for visual artists* as well as events and thematic camps during the summer months, is artistically and curatorially directed by Jan van Oordt. At times, the boundaries between the different actors and his practice blur into a fraying cosmos. Premises will now, for the first time, be fully dedicated to this process. It is a parallel of the approaches of La Dépendance; a structure that both houses and enables informal networks; is both study and vehicle, favoring collaborative experimental note-taking. The spatial translation is formulated as a sculptural arrangement that is at once structure, display, and work. This basic framework is primarily composed of used materials, which originate from the immediate surroundings of the residence. An abandoned nursery is used as a source of materials and as a carrier of content. In addition, individually existing elements from the project and various documents are woven into the exhibition. For example, the library and record collection of the house will be made accessible and activated by invited artists, existing furniture will be used for furnishing, or a system for floor tiles that was used in the residence will be used to construct a kind of presentation scenography in the small exhibition space. Various artists from the network of La Dépendance will contribute to this scenery in the form of readings, lectures, concerts and film screenings.