First Intermission (Panel 26), 2019 – ChertLüdde

2019

Medium

steel, fabric, wood, paint

Dimensions

236 × 107 cm

Status

In Gallery Collection

Collect24 Art ID

C24-151882

Designed initially to create a connecting piece between two very different panel series (panels 19-25 themed around the online dating, and panels 27-29 dealing with bureaucratic structures), the piece’s function was reminiscent of intermission screen plates in film screenings, which enabled the changing of the reel. First Inter-mission, however, took on it’s own relevance as it was made in the year that Pope Francis, having admitted his grave error in dismissing previous claims of sexual abuse in Chile, organised the first summit meeting with the participation of the presidents of all the episcopal conferences of the world, held in Vatican City, to discuss preventing sexual abuse by Catholic Church clergy. The First Inter-mission borrows its material language from the satirized theatrics of the Catholic religion, namely a priest’s vestments, and the taboo slapstick humour of the disrobed priest. The separation of ‘Inter’ and ‘Mission’ suggests an internal mission, and a certain need for soul searching within a deeply repressed environment. “First Intermission (Panel 26)”, 2019 is part of Kasia Fudakowski’s lifelong project titled Continuouslessness (2017 – ongoing) a series of paravant-like sculptures employing complete material freedom. Each panel explores different ideas, thought processes and techniques and is a work on its own, as well as a member of an ever-growing series. The word ‘continuouslessness’ itself, exists as a messy double negative resulting in oppositional concord; its structure is visually awkward, a linguistically clumsy collection of letters– a coalition of chaos reflected in the sculptures themselves. No one panel can stand alone, but must rely on its neighbor for structural support. This neither guarantees harmony nor precludes individuality as each panel may demonstrate a different idea, material or character as long as it is able to connect to the previous panel, be that an awkward joining of hands. The series will remain unfinished until the artist’s death.