As Far As I Can See. Artistic Scene of the 22. IFF New Horizons

The title of the exhibition may be understood in two ways – “to the extent that I can see” and “the distance I can cover with my eyes”. Even though it is not a direct Jonas Mekas quote, it sounds like a fragment from one of his films, verbal expression of a personal point of view. It emphasizes the human scale, what is attainable by means of the body, the eyes. After all, if it was not for the awareness of personal limitations, dreams could become ice-capped mountains. 

The artistic duo Emanuel Geisser and Kama Sokolnicka celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the Lithuanian-born artist’s birth with an exhibition about travel, movement, light and dreams which are to remain unfulfilled.  

In a 2019 interview, asked by Hans Ulrich Obrist about projects he did not complete, Jonas Mekas answered: When I turn 100, I want to go to the Himalayas, to Tibet. We’ll talk about it in 2023, when I’m back. If he was still alive, he would be celebrating his hundredth birthday this year, and probably making the trip he dreamt about. But the voyage he planned remained an idea, fantasy of a potential future which may give meaning to the present moment. Perhaps for Mekas the world’s highest peaks were always just a vision belonging to the realm of unfulfilled dreams which pushed the artist towards continuing development, further mental and artistic journeys. 

Artists: Emanuel Geisser, Kama Sokolnicka  

Kama Sokolnicka (born 1978) lives and works in Wrocław and Berlin. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław in Prof. E. Geta-Stankiewicz’s studio. Her artistic practice is based on montage as a conceptual process. She is interested in errors in reading, listening and understanding, and her works are characterised by restraint in the use of materials and varied forms – from collage, object, installation and painting to sculpture. She has held numerous solo and group exhibitions in Poland and abroad, and her work is included in institutional and private collections. In 2021, she received a scholarship from the Mayor of Wroclaw.

Emanuel Geisser born 1974 in St. Gallen, Switzerland, he lives and works in Berlin, Germany. Studies at Ecole Supérieure d´Art Visuel, Geneva (CH) and Hochschule für bildende Künste, Hamburg (D). 2002 Diploma of Fine Arts. He participated in numerous international Solo and Group Exhibitions. In his art pracrtice he uses installation, film, video as well as collage techniques. He explores the principles of nature, the persistence of physical phenomena and the fragile systems that hold everything together. He sees his work as calibrating the world with artistic instruments.

Partners: Stowarzyszenie Nowe Horyzonty, Kino Nowe Horyzonty, Ambasada Republiki Litewskiej w Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, Lithuanian Film Centre, Lithuanian Culture Institute, Program Jonas Mekas 100! 
Organiser: BWA Wrocław Galerie Sztuki Współczesnej
Co-organiser: Stowarzyszenie Nowe Horyzonty

22nd IFF New Horizons will be held on July 21-31, 2022 in Wrocław. The online edition of the festival will last a week longer, until August 7. [more on the site]