Winter Through a South Facing Window 
Jacqui Shelton

The Living Room Project, Brooklyn, New York
Sunday 22 March 2015

The Living Room Project was a one-off project I initiated while living in New York City. It took place in the living room of my apartment in Brooklyn and presented a one-day-only solo exhibition by Jacqui Shelton, which she made in response to a winter spent in New York on residency at the NARS Foundation. 

Good friends from Melbourne, Jacqui and I independently found ourselves in New York at the same time. Both pursuing artistic careers. Creative practices. Occupations. Tied up in the concept of work. Work. Work. Questions we ask ourselves: How does one succeed? Is this success(ful)? Do I need to work harder? Am I doing enough? Am I using my time productively? The motivation for this exhibition stems from our ongoing dialogue revolving around concepts of work, productivity and uncertainty, specifically as they relate to the experience of being in a new and unfamiliar environment.

Working. Thinking. Walking. Doing. Meaningless actions masquerade as productivity, and vice versa. Evident in Jacqui’s work are a series of binaries that she regularly addresses – art/not-art, efficiency/idleness, significance/irrelevance. These propositional gestures are deliberately unfinished, offering potential for constant rearranging, rehashing. An ongoing series of possible outcomes, resisting the need for completed work.

Images: Jacqui Shelton, Winter Through a South Facing Window, 2015, installation view, The Living Room Project.