Tracy Mackenna + Edwin Janssen

Growth, form and the inevitability of herself

2004

On the occasion of the celebration of the centenary of the “Entente Cordiale”, artconnexion presents a video projection by Tracy Mackenna and Edwin Janssen, at the Centre d'Arts plastiques et visuels located in the heart of Wazemmes, a meeting place for a multicultural population.

The artists from Scotland created a video devoted to the progression of a woman's life which they place in parallel with the natural evolution of a garden by integrating historical artistic references.

The projection takes the form of a grid of eighteen video fragments, each of which is filmed in close-up and moves independently of the others.

This work by Tracy Mackenna and Edwin Janssen is a contemporary still life, inspired by the 17th century Dutch tradition. It challenges established notions of 'the Beautiful and the Ugly' through a close-up view of beauty and its decay. The title of the exhibition refers to On Growth and Form, 1917, a book by D'Arcy Thompson, Professor of Biology at Dundee who was also a researcher, scientist, naturalist, classicist, mathematician and philosopher.

Tracy Mackenna and Edwin Janssen have been working together since 1997. They have exhibited frequently in Scotland and abroad. They are now based in Italy and direct the art project The Museum of Loss and Renewal.