Image: Photograph of Septuplet by Jean-François Krebs at The Smallest Gallery In Soho.

For its latest residency – running from now until 9 April – The Smallest Gallery in Soho are hosting an installation piece by French artist Jean-François Krebs. 

Septuplet is a site-specific contemplation on the boundaries of material existence. Working in collaboration with the artist’s closest spiritual entity known as Défense, Krebs presents the spectrums of mediumship through luminescent optics, layering screens of varying opacity to give an illusion of depth. 

From the street, a spectral blue light gorges on the frontage of the intimate Dean Street gallery, mesmerising in its mimicry of an intercorporeal world. However, on closer inspection, there appear to be seven amorphous figures, suspended in their own misty membrane. 

As his work is revealed to the public, we spoke to Krebs about the freedom that the space affords and the importance of tactility in art. 

Run Riot: Hi Jean-François. Could you begin by telling us a little bit about your upcoming installation at The Smallest Gallery in Soho (TSGIS) and the featured artwork?

Jean-Francois Krebs: Septuplet is a site-specific installation made of glass and light. The entire window is covered with a black membrane. It is the result of a two-week residency in the space.

Run Riot: How did you find working within TSGIS? Did it influence the creative process?

Jean-François: I had a lot of freedom. My initial proposal completely changed, and what should have been a brief installation period turned into an experimental residency for a couple of weeks. The space and the viewing conditions are very specific, and it is only after inhabiting the gallery space for a few days that new ideas started to emerge. My first impulse was to create a distance with the street, to fight against the super-visibility of the space. I tried many different ways to filter the outside world, the full window was covered with Vaseline for a week, until I found a comfortable distance, a black film. Only a strong light could be seen behind such screen. 

From this drastic change, images of an abstract assembly of luminous bodies started to form. The whole creation process was close to the feeling of having a word on the tip of the tongue.

Run Riot: Many of your previous projects explore ritual. How does the installation Septuplet address the connection between ritual and performance?

Jean-François: There is in Septuplet an immersive state that definitely connects to a primordial tactile experience that I explored a lot in previous performance works, especially works that involve a spiritual entity close to me, Défense. Working with her is often strange, because I believe that somehow we are not on the same plane, and during a performance I give her the space and time of my body so she can meet with the audience.

The images for Septuplet seemed far and inaccessible, like a distant memory. I initially thought that it was due to the nature of the work, consisting of several screens and levels of opacity, but when I put the final touch in Soho late at night, I realised that the project was inspired by Défense, and she was quite far from me, in her own voyages. 

Run Riot: Septuplet introduces viewers to the notion of intercorporeality; a form of embodiment experienced between two or more bodies. With this in mind, could you describe the importance of relationships in enhancing our own bodily sensations?

Jean-François: A lot of my work is interested in offering ways to expand human limits, pouring liquids on skin, offering blessings, or working with the transformative energy of plants, who radically question our notion of individuality. I tried to incorporate tactility in this installation, as light imprints onto the window-skin and the floating forms radiate in suspension.

Run Riot: What other themes are highlighted in the artwork?

Jean-François: I imagine Septulet as a gaze through the semi-opaque membrane of a womb nursing seven radiant yet ominous forms. Although there is a lot of light in the project, most of it is invisible to the human eye. The project is about the layers of mediumnity.

Run Riot: What do you hope audiences will take from your work?

Jean-François: I am aware that most people will pass by the window without even noticing, which is part of the beauty of such space. I am looking forward to Septuplet glowing for a few minutes while the streets are empty late at night.

Septuplet
The Smallest Gallery in Soho
62 Dean Street, Soho, London, W1D 4QF

Running until 9 April 2022

thesmallestgalleryinsoho.com

About the Artist: jeanfrancoiskrebs.com

Jean-François Krebs is a recent graduate of MFA Fine Art at Goldsmiths University of London, previously trained in landscape architecture. His current practice focuses on installation, performance art, video, sculpture and weaving.Recent exhibitions include: Primeval (Unit 1 Gallery Workshop, London, 2023); Jeune Création 72 (France, 2022); Cosmogonias (Galerie Municipale Jean-Collet, France, 2022); They/Them/Their: Naturally Not Binary (IMT Gallery, London, 2022); Crafting Ourselves (Ugly Duck, London, 2022); Weaving roots (Chisenhale studios, London, 2022).Past exhibitions and events include : 8th Biennale of Contemporary Art (Melle, France, 2018); Edvo project (FIAC, Paris, 2018); Défense tactile (robes) (Galerie du Granit, Belfort, 2019); Robe de contact (Umbigo magazine, Lisbon, 2019). Garde-Rose (Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, 2019). Krebs was part of the MAUMAUS independent study program in Lisbon, did a residency in Arteles Creative Center in Finland (2018) and at Fondation Martell in France (2021). Upcoming solo show at Kommet Art Space (Lyon, France, 2023), and upcoming residency at Cabane Georgina, Marseille.

About the Guest Curator, Olga Tarasova:

Olga works across Architecture and Art Theory & Philosophy, pursuing her passion for Art through curation and research. Exploring Phenomenology of Perception with a particular focus on the notion of Intercorporeal, Olga is currently undertaking a PhD In Visual Cultures at Goldsmiths, University of London. She has been collaborating with The Smallest Gallery in Soho, ThorpStavri and Chalton Gallery / UK Mexican Arts Society; and is part of Lawray Architects.

About The Smallest Gallery in Soho:

The Smallest Gallery in Soho (est. 2016) is a historic shop-front which faces onto Dean Street, in the heart of Soho. The aim of this intimate gallery is to display artwork that captures people’s attention on their journey through Soho and encourage them to stop, think and be inspired. It hopes to transcend the rapid changes of building developments and the dispersion of the creative cohort — that was once so vibrant within the area — by exhibiting free and engaging art works to view from the street. The Gallery is run by Philip Levine and Andreia Costa with the support from The Garage Soho.

About the Smallest Gallery in Soho Curators, Philip Levine and Andreia Costa:

Philip Levine

Philip has been working in the creative and cultural industries for the last decade as a producer. This has ranged from exhibitions, events, publishing, talks and creating his own unique artwork under the title ‘Headism’. He has gained a MA in Culture, Policy and Management at City, University of London. Being from London, his passion is knowing ‘who and what’ is up and coming in cultural trends and being involved within them. Read the Run-Riot interview with Philip Levine, here.

Andreia Costa

Andreia is an Associate Architect at Jamie Fobert Architects. She studied in the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Porto and practiced for 3 years in her native Portugal. Before moving to the UK Andreia decided to explore her contemporary art interest by working in Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art as an architecture and art lecturer. In 2010 she joined Jamie Fobert Architects, where she has been involved in several projects including Selfridges and Tate exhibitions.