All-Seeing Eye: Jon Burgerman’s Blobs
For MORROW collective’s latest exhibition All-Seeing Eye, the following Q&A is part of a series of short artist interviews. The showcase on September 28, at the exhibition’s partner space Seeing Things on Alserkal Avenue, is paired with a drop on Foundation.
Exhibition framework: The concept of the all-seeing eye can be found across different cultures, religions, and philosophical systems throughout history. It is associated with powerful and all-encompassing attributes and is sometimes considered to symbolise a divine gaze watching over all of humanity. This exhibition lifts from those ancient beliefs to present a series of artworks depicting eyes that watch you as you watch them.
Jon Burgerman, probably best known for his Blobs series, is part of the exhibition with Fireworks — I’ve extracted a still image above but you will need to visit our exhibition to see the full work. Here he is in conversation with me, Anna Seaman, curator @MORROW collective.
AS: You greet your viewers with a series of playful emoji-like ‘blobs’ but according to your artistic statement that surface “belies fraught conflicting feelings beneath”. Can you explain this intentional juxtaposition of seeming banality or frivolity with something much more profound?
JB: The works I make are intended to be enjoyable and accessible, but that doesn’t necessarily preclude them from having a subtext. I often feel a concept in a work can be heightened when, from the outset, it appears that the piece is just being playful. That juxtaposition can disarm a viewer, causing surprise, delight or even shock. I open the front door, warmly invite you in and then maybe give you a little kick in the behind. I think the best kind of comedy works like that too.
AS: I am fascinated by the concept of individuality vs community or the feeling of isolation in a world of eight billion people. Do you consider this to be a condition of our era?
JB: We’ve never been so connected and so isolated. It seems for a lot of people online interactions are replacing IRL ones. There’s an epidemic of depression in young people and I believe it’s because we haven’t found the right balance between our digital and non-digital lives. A lot of my paintings and digital works like to play around with the idea of being an individual alone in a vast community. It’s relatable for so many people and it’s certainly how I feel a lot of the time.
AS: Can you explain the title of this work to us: Fireworks?
JB: The little blobs look like fireworks, exploding towards each other. It could be seen as a few things; a celebration, a swarm invading each other, or, as thought as I made it, the spark of an idea. The blobs being like the firing of synapses, which quickly becomes cluttered and overwhelming. I’m an over-thinker, and this is what happens when you think too much.
AS: How do you consider it in the wider context of the All Seeing Eye collection?
JB: It fits in well, as it looks like the other pieces in the collection might be preoccupied with managing our thoughts and over-thinking too.
AS: My final question is about process: can you explain the fusion of digital and physical in general and in this piece specifically ?
JB: I paint a lot of blobs and have in the past taken my paintings, scanned them and created digital works. This piece, however, is totally digital, whilst intrinsically linked to my studio practice. My brother wrote the code for the blobs (and created the music for the piece) based on my concept. It doesn’t matter to me what medium I create in, as long as I’m enjoying the work and being surprised by the results.
