"ELLIPSE the first sign of pressure on a circle and by deformation."
Iron is formed inside stars as the last element that can originate in this way. Its presence in the nucleus of a star will eventually cause a gravitational collapse and a supernova explosion. It is the same iron that then becomes part of haemoglobin, which is essential for breathing. Despite the immense distance between a supernova explosion and respiration they are partly conditioned by the same element. The complex interconnectedness of the events around us can cause anxiety and amazement at the same time. Mia Milgrom reflects on it intuitively through her passion for the material.
The starting point of the exhibition was an interest in "the language of tension that arises in disturbed situations" Mia observes these from a perspective of a geologist who can glimpse into "the system, the support structure that maintains the local equilibrium…layers of organic deposits alternate with human footprints and objects that accumulate and gradually decompose, seeping down into deeper layers and contaminating the soil".
The exhibition consists of minimalist situations that are spatial metaphors for the support structure just before the fall, equilibrium maintained by a defective component. Although they are all predominantly made of iron, it is the details of the joints that draw attention to themselves. At first glance, the embedded wooden or ceramic parts are an illogical weakening of the structure. The unsustainability of the systems we live in is another thing Mia is thinking about. The whole, however, is not weakened by the material of the joints; it only starts to fall apart when we want to organise it, explain it, control it. "By creating nonsensical moments, we may approach narratives that offer non-linear recourses."
It takes inner peace to perceive the potential of the non-linear recourses that promise relief. We spin in circles. We sense a way out of exhaustion, but we are too tired to reach for it. Mia lends us a hand in the form of a bump that disrupts the expected trajectory of movement. A sculpture is a thing that acts. The action is initiated by its physical presence; the action itself happens elsewhere. Steel shape wedged between the ceiling and the floor raises an unspoken question. Is it an ellipse that fits precisely in the gap, or is it a circle deformed by the pressure of the ceiling? Thoughts are distracted by viewing the embedded segments. I stick with them.
The distorted trajectory of an ellipse reminds me of a combination of words from the book Pedagogy of the Oppressed: to be more. It stands as a call for emancipation, an opposition to the imperative: you are less. Words derived from Freire's complex analysis appear a bit awkward in this way. I ask how to be more, how to want less so that I can be more? I return to the embedded segments. My thought get blurred, as if their presence was an obstacle. I get used to the feeling and start to enjoy it. I think of Jane Bennet. In her essay The Force of Things, she writes: "Perhaps the very idea of the force of things and living matter asks too much of us: to know more than it is possible to know." In an essay that discusses, among other things, the similarities between Adorno's non-identity and the force of things, she mentions in a footnote Roman Coles's interpretation of Adorno's concept. As Roman Coles writes of Adorno, "objects are not captured by concepts completely, and thus life will always defy our knowledge and control. The negative dialectic is a morality of thought that nurtures generosity towards others and towards non-identity in the self."
To want less, to be more, to find a way to alleviate the suffering caused by trying to control all things.
Pavla Sceranková, 2023