Impossible Logic, by Kāryn Taylor
Kāryn Taylor
Impossible Logic
Jhana Millers
Level 1
Mibar Building
85 Victoria St
Wellington
5 November – 28 November 2020
Kāryn Taylor, Vertigo, 2020. Courtesy of the artist and Jhana Millers
Kāryn Taylor manipulates materials, light, form and shadow to challenge our perception of the structures that ground our reality. Her practice is informed by geometric abstraction and stems from her interest in quantum physics and how all is not as it seems—“we are wandering around in an illusory world.” Taylor is interested in the idea that we are twisting reality on a moment-by-moment basis. Are we creating our world by consciousness alone, as quantum physics seems to suggest? We already know that everything is made up of energy and a lot of empty space, so why or how are objects so convincingly solid?To Kāryn, geometric abstraction is a language that has the ability to express complicated non-sensical ideas in a more logical way. She feels that geometry, along with colour, has a strong and clear energy structure, a kind of imbedded coding that the viewer can pick up on at some level.There will be a range of works in Impossible Logic, including self-illuminating light boxes, shadow boxes and multi-dimensional drawings. The self-illuminating light boxes are intense in colour and their glowing lines of light defy logic, glowing without power, convincing many that there must be some kind of hidden mechanism or light source. The shadow boxes are more subtle and ephemeral; they use shades of grey to elicit 3 dimensional geometric forms. The multi-dimensional drawings are made up of painted lines, rods protruding from the wall and animated projection—combining moving and static lines in an attempt to push the work beyond 3 dimensions.
Taylor holds an MFA from the Elam School of Art, University of Auckland, and a BFA from Massey University, Wellington. Her work has been exhibited widely throughout New Zealand and Australia, most recently at Sydney Contemporary Presents 2020. In 2017 she was included in Personal Structures, Pallazo Mora, Pallazo Bembo, Venice, Italy and at Art-Athina Contemporary Art Fair, Faliron Pavilion, Athens, Greece. She was a finalist for the Fulbright Wallace Award, 2018 and received a Merit at the Parkin Drawing Prize, 2017.