Jenny Holzer: Sign of the Times



1-2. Installation views: Jenny Holzer, READY FOR YOU WHEN YOU ARE, 2023, Hauser & Wirth, West Hollywood. Copyright Jenny Holzer, courtesy Jenny Holzer and Hauser & Wirth. All rights reserved DACS, London/ARS, New York, 2023. Photograph: Collin LaFleche. / 3. Jenny Holzer, READY FOR YOU, 2023 (detail), leaf and oil on linen, 80 x 60 x 1/2 inches. Copyright Jenny Holzer, courtesy Jenny Holzer and Hauser & Wirth. All rights reserved DACS, London/ARS, New York, 2023. Photograph: Collin LaFleche. / 4. Jenny Holzer, COMPELLANCE (detail), 2023, red gold leaf and oil on linen, 80 x 60 x 1 1/2 inches. Copyright Jenny Holzer, courtesy Jenny Holzer and Hauser & Wirth. All rights reserved DACS, London/ARS, New York, 2023. Photograph: Collin LaFleche. / 5. Installation view: Jenny Holzer, READY FOR YOU WHEN YOU ARE, 2023, Hauser & Wirth, West Hollywood. Copyright Jenny Holzer, courtesy Jenny Holzer and Hauser & Wirth. All rights reserved DACS, London/ARS, New York, 2023. Photograph: Collin LaFleche.

 

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GOOD and BAD are each composed of a vertical four-sided LED beam, suspended from the ceiling and rotating – in an unpredictable pattern, clockwise and counterclockwise – on a robotic axis. In shades of black, white, red, violet, and fuchsia, their AI-generated texts glide up and down each side of the LED beams. The vertical, angled, circular motion of the LED beams hints at incantation, while letters and words appear to rise from the floor, evaporate into the air, and materialise through crackling static. An excerpt from BAD reads: “The cloud of fear is over us. Alarm – suspicions grow. Do you believe in corrupt power? Do you fear a secret cabal? Trust us – we are in charge. Patriots. Wake up sheeple. The deep state tyrants are here. They will try to manipulate and take away our rights. We must stand united against this evil. We must fight back. We must defend our freedoms!” Flashes of red, violet, and fuchsia from the LED beams are reflected on the smooth concrete floor, bouncing off and onto the gallery walls and dancing across the mottled texture of nearby paintings. The effect is a digital sort of mystical or magical.”

© 2024 Harriet Flavel Ltd