By placing mirrors, hanging transparent plastic circular panels, and by installing a camera and a projector, Juri Suzuki produced a carefully orchestrated experience that employs both the logic of Minimal Art and the Japanese Zen Garden. Perhaps challenging what Michael Fried once Famously called 'theatricality', as the problematic identity of Minimalist Art, Juri creates an experience that knows moments of 'presence' and moments of 'performance'. It requires attention and the mirrors and observing the interplay of light and image, we start to recognize delicate compositional lines that create movement, allowing us to see the space anew. The projection introduces another element into this dynamic, which aims not to confront, but to unite the sculptural installation with the cinematographic image. One questions whether the merging of the two is as successful as it could be, and further experiment and research seem necessary, but the ambition is clearly started. The proposal Juri makes in this final work is a convincing start.
Written by Steven ten Thije
Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Graduation show 2013