A couple of weeks ago I attended the Art/banchel Festival and in the heart of Carabanchel, Madrid, discovered an oasis: the Sabrina Amrani Gallery. One of the current exhibitions is by the artist Joël Andrianomearisoa (Antananarivo, 1977), representative of Madagascar in the country’s pavilion at the Biennale di Venezia 2019. Through his work, the artist invites us into a personal world where past, present and future are intertwined. With moving lyricism, he sets out to submerge us in his world, so that we can grasp hold of this decisive and timeless instant without beginning or end.
Past, present and future: Do they hold you back? Weigh you down? Do you see them?
Dark Sky (2013), a curtain of transparencies, some filled with light and others as dark as our evolving existence, welcomes us to the exhibition. The artist expresses himself through the direct, universal language of cloth dyed white, black and blueish-grey. Like in a game of hide and seek, the spectator steps inside, searching for the light in the hanging textile, trying to discover an entranceway to the immediate future.
The exhibition space plays host to an installation where the artist aims to take us on a kind of journey in time, accompanied by love or its absence, memory, newness and the mystery of what we wish to achieve.
A game of mirrors, reflected reflections
Moments from the artist’s life and career are brought into play (Are these fleeting moments historic? Authentic? Existential? Mundane? Professional? Useful?) The work seems to suggest the past and its ties, the present, through a collection of recent works, and the future, with the words “Tomorrow, tomorrow” in neon lights behind a cloth. A spellbound whisper that proposes to immerse us in timelessness, a chimera where the future is almost as clear as the present. In the background, however, set against Joël Andrianomearisoa’s visual language and reflections like a physical witness, a mirror reflects reality. Who hasn’t felt the need to free themselves of past ties which, like fine, almost invisible dredging nets, prevent us from moving forward? Who, despite feeling the floor beneath their feet, hasn’t experienced the challenge of putting themselves back together and finding the right way?
Tomorrow, tomorrow. Those are words. You love flowers. How about tomorrow? (Joël Andrianomearisoa)
Exposition: Joël Andrianomearisoa. Tomorrow, tomorrow. Those are the words. You love flowers. How about tomorrow? at Sabrina Amrani Gallery from 13 April to 27 July 2019
Photography: Oscar Rivilla
Translation: Rebekah James Rhodes
Music: Dr Symtosizer
Art director: Carolina Verd
Fashion:
Main picture: dress by Bash courtesy from Globally
Picture 2: dress by Angel Sanchez boots by Dr Martens courtesy from Globally
Picture 3, 4 and 5: jumpsuit by Bash courtesy from Globally
Carolina Verd 