JON SASAKI | CROSSROADS

JON SASAKI | CROSSROADS

Room 1

Jon Sasaki

CROSSROADS

EXHIBITION /
OCTOBER 15 TO NOVEMBER 21, 2009

The work of the Toronto artist Jon Sasaki is rooted in the experience of futility. In projecting actions that constantly reiterate trial and error his video works tackle the idea of success, both in the artistic realm and in everyday gestures. There is something cynical about the situations he stages: a cyclist pedals full speed without stopping, yet moves forward at a ridiculously slow pace; a man tries to reach the top of a wall by superposing small ladders which are inadequate for the height to be attained. Presented as loops these short scenes — sometimes surrealistically reminiscent of nightmarish situations — form universes from which one cannot escape.

The work Crossroads, in which the artist adopts a film essay approach, presents a famous intersection in Clarksdale, Mississippi where the bluesman Robert Johnson is said to have sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his exceptional guitar playing talent.

As Sasaki states “ever since they have existed crossroads have been viewed as symbols of choice.” The hesitation is underscored by the camera’s point of view, which instead of choosing one of the intersection’s roads is constantly roaming off trail where it generates new paths and possibilities. These successive reorientations trigger disorientation; the pressure of indecision reinforces the need to commit oneself fully to a given path, however, without ever reaching it. Filmed as a single shot of about thirty minutes, Crossroads demands a sustained, and perhaps even unusual attention from viewers used to the rapid editing of standard film fare. Presented on a wide surface the projection has immersive qualities that can be destabilizing and thus bring the subject matter’s indetermination to life.

AS, trans. BAS