SELECTED #10

14
15
DRAGOS ALEXANDRESCU
ABSENCE OF PRESENCE
2015, 2’ 12’’, single channel, colour, sound, edition of 5 + 2AP
The Absence of Presence is both a
reflection and a representation of the
impact of technology and the digital self
on human relations. As we move our lives
online, the Internet promises a blissful
land of abundance. But can a space of
constructed identities and permanent
surveillance also be a space of intimacy?
Dragos Alexandrecu’s film The Absence of
Presence explores and questions the effects
of technological interference on our capacity
to be present. In the film a complex and
contradictory space is presented. The frame
intermittently shows inserts of fragmented
physicality: tightly-cropped shots of fingers
scrolling - or dancing- across the screen,
eyes, legs. We hear sounds of crickets, and
softly spoken words. The reverse gestures
between the construction of a virtual self and
a physical presence are explored.
‘What emerges in Alexandrescu’s exploration
is the establishment of an architecture of
loneliness, where the seductive construction
of online identity acts as a symbolic wall
from where it is difficult to escape. Does
the ceaseless stream of intrusions and
interruptions in our daily life necessarily
entail inclusion in the social fabric? Or is
it instead exclusionary? The Absence of
Presence’s anticipatory nature is situated on
the border between construction and ruin.’
Maya Byskov, curator and deputy director of
Gallery Taik Persons.
Dragos Alexandrescu (1974, Romania)
is an audiovisual artist. He received a
Master of Fine art from the University
of Arts George Enescu, La i, Romania
in 2005. His most notable exhibitions
include the upcoming Ideologies and
Conflicts, at the National Museum of
Contemporary Art, Bucharest, RO.
His work has been exhibited in solo
exhibitions such as: My Time, Varikko
Galleri, Sejnäjoki (2013); One day
screening of My Time project, Tranzit
GalleryIasi (2013); Perspectives, Vasa
Konsthall and Ibis Gallery, Vasa (2009);
Extended View, Gallery Sine, Helsinki
(2008); Between, Platform Gallery,
Vasa (2005); Index, Vector Gallery, Iasi
(2005). His works have been included
in several private collections in Europe.
Alexandrescu currently lives and works
in Vaasa, Finland.
Presented by
— Gallery Taik Persons, Berlin