Hot Wheels Athens, Athens
Jesper List Thomsen
Hot Wheels Athens presents two works by Jesper List Thomsen.
Conceived for, and performing a central role within Thomsen’s recent exhibition Standard Count at the gallery in Athens, There is no future f o r s u r e (2019) and We have gone full circle and are now back at full bling (2019) are two audio loops. Each pulsating, breathing, gasping; they deliver a language that is numerical, consensual to a body measuring its own demise against the upkeep of officious norms. The loops are carried by a rudimentary portable-speaker, installed in immediate proximity to a power source.
Standard Count exhibition text
Counting is essential when a body is worked in the gym. The standard count is 12, for cycles of both workout and rest. A body taking shape is a numerical body. A calculated image forms. 9 meters is the average length of the human digestive tract, starting from the mouth and ending at the anus. This first significant feature to form in the human embryo manifests in reverse to the function it later comes to serve. A body traversing territory leaves a trace. This trace coagulates in the body and in the structures that govern it. How long does a line drawn with a permanent marker last? This is a frequently asked question online. The answer is generally that it depends on the ink quality of the marker, the surface it’s applied to and the conditions under which it exists. UV exposure is the main cause of fade, but other environmental impacts such as moisture and touch will have a diminishing effect. In painting a mark’s ability to become historical is tied to the continued acceptance of a gesture. The painter was a man. Most of the good paintings we see today are not by a man. How long will I live? This is another frequently asked question online. When a body dies, certain structures stay in place, these are preserved by the same means that determine the length of that particular body’s life. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Jesper List Thomsen (b.1978, Denmark) is a writer and an artist based in Athens and London. Recent exhibitions and performances include Standard Count, Hot Wheels Athens; FROM TACITURN TO BUFF, Parrhesiades/ South London Gallery, London; BASE BASE etc., Hot Wheels Projects, Athens; A Talk in Two Parts with Painting, Grüner Salon, Volksbühne, Berlin; BASE BASE, Gasworks, London; A table made again for the first time, Bureau des Réalités, Brussels; A Social Body Event, Serpentine Gallery, London; Hollis and Money, ICA, London/ Künstlerhaus, Stuttgart; Hand and Mind, Grand Union, Birmingham; The boys the girls and the political, Lisson Gallery, London. A book-length collection of his texts was published by Juan de la Cosa/ John of the Thing, Mexico City/ London in 2018. A new book will be published in Autumn 2020 by L’Esprit de l’Escalier, London/Helsinki.
Please contact the gallery for further information.