Galerie Caroline O’Breen is pleased to present Pictorial Fields, a solo exhibition of new work by Jaya Pelupessy. Please join us and the artist for opening drinks on Saturday 16 November, 16–19 hrs.
Jaya Pelupessy’s works present a conceptual and alternative reading of photography. He explores the early technical history of photography to arrive at a reinterpretation of the photographic medium. In Pictorial Fields, a continuation of Manufactured Manual, Pelupessy zooms in on the photographic surface, focusing on the analysis of individual pixels or dots. As a result, the works become more abstract, shifting from examining what is photographed to a deeper exploration of the photograph itself. The title of the series refers to both the representational qualities and limitations of photography, placing it within the context of abstract expressionism.
The gallery show features Pictorial Fields works starting from No. 10, while No. 1 to 9 is currently on view at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam in the exhibition ‘Circulate – Photography Beyond Frames. Proposals for the Museum Collection’.
Pelupessy developed a special technique for adding pigments to light-sensitive screenprinting emulsion. These self-made emulsions are applied to the silkscreen and exposed to UV light, layering each colour separately. The final image appears once the colour dots of each exposure overlap. While silkscreen frames are typically used for printing and reproducing images, Pelupessy employs them as a canvas for his work, thus merging process and outcome. This focus on the construction of the image is a key element in his work.
BIO Jaya Pelupessy
Jaya Pelupessy (b. 1989, NL) a visual artist who works with photography. In recent years, he has gained recognition and support from institutions including a.o. the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, the Nederlands Fotomuseum, Wereldmuseum Amsterdam, Nest Den Haag, FOAM and the Centraal Museum in Utrecht. Until March’25, his largest work to date is on view at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.
Jaya Pelupessy uses photography to investigate the medium’s status. Central to his work are the processes that lead to autonomous images; an examination of to what extent the process itself and the visibility of that process enhance, undermine, or generate new autonomous images. Numerous ‘loops’ emerge within his work, wherein reproductions are again reproduced.
Pelupessy’s work can be found in the collections of FOAM, the Nederlands Fotomuseum, Wereldmuseum Amsterdam, the Centraal Museum Utrecht, Amsterdam UMC, Steenbergen, Eneco and in various private collections.
