The Approach is pleased to present Double Shadow, a solo exhibition of new collage works by John Stezaker.
Duality, both literally and metaphorically, is in constant play in this new series. Through his careful process of cutting and repurposing found images, Stezaker rewrites the narrative of the characters, creating an altogether new drama. Where past works regularly use opaque black matt grounds, in this exhibition of Double Shadows, the works, through still dark in tone, contain a variety of subtle coloured grounds in deep blues, reds and greens.
Implementing the technique of dramatic back-lighting borrowed from Film Noir (a genre that has long been an influence on Stezaker’s work), the dark void of one cut-out figure, pair, or embracing couple, intertwined with a second silhouette evokes feelings of surprise, paranoia, mystery, voyeurism and curiosity in a sliding, ungraspable narrative.
To accompany the Double Shadows, we will be showing the film Kiss, 2020, in The Annexe. The film is comprised from a vast number of the artist’s personal collection of film stills, re-photographed and projected at 24 images per second.
