JANA SCHRÖDER: M.I.G.H.T.

Skarstedt is delighted to announce M.I.G.H.T., Jana Schröder’s second solo exhibition with the gallery and her debut in London.

November 21, 2024 – January 18, 2025

Schröder’s latest paintings serve, first and foremost, to explore the Metamorphosis in Generative Human Thinking (M.I.G.H.T.), an acronym she devised that also evokes ambiguity and doubt. Reflecting on the ongoing technological revolution, Schröder draws parallels between neurological communication and the overwhelming flood of information that permeates our culture today. As technology advances, the analogue world struggles to keep pace, embodying the tension between the digital landscape and our cognitive processes. This exhibition examines the impact of digital media on our neural networks, revealing how constant engagement reshapes our perceptions, attention spans, and modes of understanding.

Each painting starts ‘brutishly’, and the following decisions ‘narrow things down and become more and more intentional’, Schröder explains. Working patiently and meditatively, she eschews objectivity in favour of rhythmic compositions, using music as an essential tool to link auditory reception to visual abstraction.

Occasionally, she’ll let a podcast play in the background, which functions as an artificial tinnitus for her to contend with. Many of her series titles are inspired by the nervous system, revealing her deep fascination with its workings. For instance, the SYNACLIPS series combines 'synapse'—the connection point between neurons that enables communication - with 'clips', hinting at snippets of information or digital content. Rendered in black and white, SYNACLIPS L1 conjures anatomical associations, inviting the viewer to reflect upon the complex challenges of modern perception.

Jana Schröder reflects on our perception and concentration in a rapidly changing world. She asks us to consider the extent of our consciousness, ruminating on the experiences that do not stick in our memories, and how these unconscious experiences shape our engagement. In essence, she suggests the artist’s mind is fractured, owing to the fragility of our cognitive processes. 

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ESTHER MAHLANGU: TIME IN COLOR

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SARAH CROWNER: NIGHT FOR DAY