Constant Dullaart: Stringendo, Vanishing Mediators, Carroll/Fletcher

For the premiere UK Constant Dullaart Exhibition, Carroll/Fletcher have let the Dutch artist indulge in an immersive installation rife with critique of the current state of the internet

The Story 

In 1987, on a pristine beach on Bora Bora, John Knoll snapped a photograph of his soon-to-be wife Jennifer, gazing out at the sea. At the time Knoll had no idea that the image, which came to be known as Jennifer In Paradise, would mark a turning point in digital imagery. Soon after returning home, Knoll stumbled across the emerging technology of digital image processing. Confronted with a then ‘cutting-edge’ flatbed scanner, Knoll used the first picture he had to hand. This is how Jennifer In Paradise became the first ever image subjected to a demonstration of what the developers were calling Photoshop. This story is a perfect entrance point to the world and obsessions of Constant Dullaart, a Dutch artist, born in 1979 and based in Berlin. 

The Exhibition

Dullaart is probably best described as an inter-medium artist. He is concerned with digital interpretations of physical matter and subjects. His current show, Stringendo, Vanishing Mediators at Carroll/Fletcher, focuses on the story of Jennifer In Paradise. A set of moving holographic recreations of the image, collated from stills of the original Photoshop demo by Knoll, act as a mezmerizing centrepiece. Different digital manipulations of the image also line the walls throughout with sensational effect. 

Dullaart also explores the Internet as a space for presentation as well as a medium. Pieces are presented in digital forms that we know too well; the pop-up window or the endless web address, the perpetual loading icon and the cycling image gallery. But Dullaart subverts and exceeds the audience’s expectations, drawing attention to a rock-hard sentiment beneath each artwork. 

Critical View

In this, his first UK solo exhibition, Dullaart is questioning how the rise of digitized communication and creativity has impacted upon art. What you will see speaks of Dullaart’s disdain for the current state of the Internet.  In the last few years, more and more of what the average person does on the internet is curtailed and curated by corporate systems and geopolitics, leaving increasingly less control to the private user who wishes to decide their own path. In a recent interview with AQNB, Dullaart had this to say: 

“What the Internet stood for, for a long time, is something that I’m still nostalgically supporting. I think that was a beautiful system but it’s gone, over.”  

Whetehr you agree with this or not, Dullaart is at the forefront of commentary on our current digital age. He is more aware than most of the changes and repercussions of the digital sphere’s intrusion into our lives, our art and our culture.