In his film work, Jesper Just links images of an exceptional qua lity to sound and music. Enigmas disrupt the narrative, creating a poetry-liberating tension. The artist leaves spectators with their own doubts and emotions. The work conceived for the Palais de Tokyo consists of an audiovisual installation and a spatial inter vention, which transforms both the space and the visitor's journey. The One World Trade Center, an iconic and controversial skyscra per, is as much the scene of the films, as a character in itself. It functions as a phantom limb, while also standing for resilience. The films follow two characters: a young girl, who is not an individual but embodies the ideals of youth and feminity conveyed today, and a disabled child. The characters mirror, oppose and interact, to explore themes of ableism and agency as well as the boundaries of body and selfhood.
This monograph gathers a conversation with Jesper Just and Katell Jaffrès, curator of Patrick Neu's exhibition at the Palais de Tokyo, an essay by Fabien Danesi, a portfolio of views of the exhibition, a selection of stills from films by Jesper Just created between 2002 and 2013, a group of stills from Servitudes, Jesper Just's nine new films, and notes on a selection of the artist's works.
Fabien Danesi is an art historian. He's managing the programme of the Pavillon Neuflize OBC, the research lab of the Palais de Tokyo.
Katell Jaffrès is a curator at the Palais de Tokyo.
Published on the occasion of Jesper Just's solo exhibition at the Palais de Tokyo, “Servitudes,” from June to September 2015.
Published in cooperation with Les presses du réel, this series of monographic books accompanies the Palais de Tokyo's exhibition program. Richly illustrated, with many views of the exhibition, accessible to all, each book will offer the reader an extended experience of the encounter with the artists' work. The artists' words will appear alongside original contributions by theoreticians, art critics, and curators, providing the reader with a deeper understanding of each artist's background and of the genesis of their project for the Palais de Tokyo. These books will allow the reader to follow the evolution of the artists' reflection on their work. Reproductions of artworks, preparatory documents, visual references, and studio views will bear witness to each step in the artist's process and accompany interviews and essays.
Born 1974 in Copenhagen, Jesper Just lives and works in New York.
