Jasper Marsalis: \m/’

Jasper Marsalis’ latest solo exhibition examines the complex relationship between being seen and consumed, blending sculpture, painting, and live video feeds. Marsalis uses a miniature camera to capture gallery visitors’ movements as they ascend a staircase. Their image is displayed on an LED screen, which obscures their view of the space and projects their fragmented self back to them. This creates a dynamic interplay between audience and performer, as the viewer unknowingly becomes part of the work.

The exhibition expands on Marsalis’ interest in how technology amplifies and distorts human senses, mirroring the overblown, pixelated imagery and sounds of popular music. The artist connects this to the broader question of human and cyborg interaction, incorporating reflective materials like soldering metal, tin foil, and mirrored squares to further disrupt the viewer’s experience.

In his canvas works, Marsalis abstracts performative spaces, using shapes that evoke concert halls, microphones, and audience members. His use of reflective surfaces literally reflects the viewer back at themselves, confronting them with their own gaze while exploring the limits of visual consumption. The opacity and inaccessibility of the materials echo the tension between visibility and illegibility, as Marsalis continues his investigation into the political implications of performing under constant observation.

Throughout the exhibition, Marsalis questions the ways in which identity is constructed and consumed, blending physical, digital, and performative elements to challenge the viewer’s role in this complex dynamic. Whether through video installations, painting, or sculpture, he reflects on the persistent nature of our visual consumption in a world where technology mediates our interactions and perceptions.