KÜNSTLERHAUS

BETHANIEN

Künstler*innen

Lewis & Taggart

Canada

Second Sight (Illuminated), Wooden objects collected at Skógafoss waterfall (Iceland), paint, wrapping paper offered free of charge at the Illum department store in Bergen (Norway), mat board, found and modified wooden table feet, oak, finishing oil, steel dowels, 50 x 12 x 5 cm, 2011/2015, Photo: Bent René Synnevåg, Courtesy Entrée, Bergen

Central to the practice of the Canadian, Norway-based artist duo Lewis & Taggart is the object. Object in the material sense of the term; object as the subject of limitless interpretation and meaning, the capacity of which frequently evades the knowing grasp. The object can be perceived under two definitions. The first is the object as something that defines us, something that fills our needs as consumers and collectors, and which influences our movement by way of its physical properties. The second is the object as something that comes before us, commands our attention, and exists also without us. The practice of Lewis & Taggart can be understood as a merging of the two, and as an exploration of the tensions that result from such a merging.  (Excerpt from an essay by Markéta Stará Condeixa)