Sebura&Gartelmann: Bonded exhibition catalog

As Gartelmann makes progress
toward the camera, Sebura shifts
in relationship to his collaborator,
resulting in significant setbacks,
sliding back towards the wall.
Visible bonding culminates through
a balance of power, success, and
failure. Pulley System is an ambitious
effort, but there is no identifiable
task at hand other than the tangible
evidence of work as Sebura&Gartelmann
begin to reveal exhausted
energy and physical stress.
Peg Wall and Pulley System are a
window into manual labor, where
bonding finds form in a shared ritual.
The videos end, but the acts are
never adequately concluded. Similar
to a laborer’s work life, these tasks
could be performed repetitively with
equivalent outcomes.
Where Peg Wall and Pulley System
are laborious acts one could find
on a jobsite, Gum Chew is a labor
and bonding ritual reminiscent of
actions at the end of the day or on
a break. The scene of this video
frames Sebura&Gartelmann facing
the camera sitting in two lawn chairs
Sebura&Gartelmann, Pulley System,
2019. Single-channel video with sound,
2:21 minutes. Courtesy of the artists.
15