Looking anew at the simple and seemingly obvious parts of our lives, is and should always be a fascinating one. Some may scoff at the seemingly pointless nature of introspection, of re-examining what we all take for granted, but if you are not willing to look at aspects of your life, to re-examine what you have been told, and what you have taken for granted, what is the point of you living your life from your own unique perspective? If you are to live life through another, then that is a judgement to be made by that individual, personally it is not mine, nor ever will be.
So I am more than happy to feature the work of the artist Giulia Gazza. Giulia has taken the motion and the notion of the single point, as a fascinating project of intent. What is a point? Is it a physical mark of intent by one entity upon the state of another, is it a symbolic projection of existence, a transitory moment in space and time, or is it something in between these thoughts, or even something entirely outside of these definitions?
Giulia physically creates points, and non-points in her work. The physical creation of points are made by her in a number of creative ways. She maps points individually by pen, by needle, by brush. Points can be separate, focused, and alone, but they are also accumulative, so that groupings and grids of belonging, of identity begin to form seemingly outside the constraints of the artist and the process, as if they have a life and function of their own.
An interesting point, as we have to ask ourselves whether Giulia as an artist is creating the points of reference, or are the points already in place and she has the task of identifying them? By revealing defined moments in space and time that exist and continue to exist irrespective of the limited three dimensional world we experience as humans, what does the focused point engender?
Interestingly, her idea of non-points are just as fascinating as the fixed points, if not more so than her points of reference made by pen, needle, brush, for is not the lack of a point potentially more charged than the physical point itself. By fixing the coordinates in space and time, creating a seeming non-focus, does not that coordinated space, even though it lacks a physical point, become its own point in its own right, a point of non-fixed space.
Giulia's is a fascinating perspective, as it allows us to question our assumptions on so many levels, levels that she has identified, and levels that we as viewers get to question of ourselves. We get to see an insight into the complexity of both ourselves, our world, and perhaps the way we see and interpret that world, something we don't always appreciate, and something we are often not encouraged to ponder.
We are all separate points of reference. Each of us has coordinates of uniqueness, we are moments in space and time that are brought together once, and only once. However, we are not fixed points, we are indeed points in motion, we have a path to navigate and along that path there are shifts and focuses. We are part of a greater grid of humanity and beyond, but we are also isolated in our points of reference. It is perhaps poignant that we live in a contemporary world of ever more intimate connection between points of belonging and connection, yet seem ever more isolated in that connected world.
It is a reference that can be picked up from Giulia's work. Many of the single images shown in this article belong to larger compositions, some of the physical points that she produces are randomised, some formalised, some separated by frames, some not. All of her work contains focused points, but they range from small ink dots, buttons, embroidered squares, and frames of nothing, yet they all in their own way relate to the same focused points, just expressed in a different format.
We are of course, as is the job of the artist, left with many questions. Giulia does not answer them for us, it is her job to reveal more questions, rather than answers. Life is in fact a series of questions, or at least it should be. Who, why, where, when, what, and more besides.
If we are part of a greater grouping, a greater grid, is it one of our own making, or are we part of a bigger plan? Do we, by focusing on ourselves, become a coordinate in the moment of time and space, or are we a reference beyond our knowing. It is an endless puzzle, a conundrum that may never have a speedy and logical answer, but then that is part of the fun of being alive in the first place. If all of this was answered, then life would never have the intrigue it does, and artists like Giulia would never get the chance to get herself and us to question where we are, who we are, and what we are, and I for one am more than happy for her to continue.
All imagery used in this article was generously supplied by the artist, and is copyrighted to her. Please ask her for permission before reusing. Thanks.
