Alfredo Jaar: The Geometry of Solitude

Goodman Gallery presents The Geometry of Solitude, a solo exhibition by Alfredo Jaar focused on an early body of works dedicated to the refugee experience. Jaar’s artistic practice centres on what he terms ‘exercises in representation’; here the artist employs different visual and conceptual strategies to make people and their circumstances visible.

The New York-based artist is celebrated for his critical work which raises awareness about sociopolitical issues that have been forgotten, suppressed or ignored.  A key focus of his work has been the displacement of refugees. Often using images and messages from the media, and through photographs taken by himself, Jaar has investigated contemporary thinking concerning human rights violations, migration and political and social unrest for over forty years. His practice responds to news stories around the world and asks viewers to reconsider the power of images, through a renewed process of reflection. Jaar has also engaged with South African audiences on a number of occasions, with the most recent being his solo exhibition at Zeitz MOCAA in 2021 in which he presented The Rwanda Project, 1994-2000. This body of work derived from field research in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide of 1994 and explores how one can engage with trauma as an outsider.  The work addresses global audiences to prompt awareness of the poor global response to the tragedy and the indifference from the global community to the atrocities in Rwanda.