Joseph Yaeger. Point of Return

Point of Return It is his first solo exhibition at an Italian institution in Joseph Yaeger (Helena, Montana, 1986; lives and works in London). The exhibition brings together works created over a number of years and new productions, providing a comprehensive overview of his research.

Yaeger’s study is based on archive footage, films, documentaries and videos found. The artist selects sequences that are not iconic or immediately recognisable, but which are capable of evoking a sense of déjà vu. Through processes of cropping and alteration, the images are suspended in an ambiguous balance between recognition and disorientation.

The title of the exhibition takes its cue from a painting from 2021 and turns the concept of the “point of no return” on its head: whilst the latter suggests an irrevocable loss, the “point of return” On the contrary, it introduces a perspective of transformation and openness. The new works function as windows and mirrors, reviving an engagement with earlier works within an ongoing dialogue between the private sphere, collective memory and the present day.

From a technical point of view, the paintings are created using watercolour on plaster, a technique developed by Yaeger that requires complex preparation of the canvas and extremely rapid painting. The micro-cracks The cracks that form in the plaster as it dries become an integral part of the work, creating a fascinating contrast between the’the evanescence of the cinematic image and the the subject of painting.