“Tomorrow, I walked to a dark black star” is the final part of the “A Model” exhibition, conceived as a triptych by Mudam director and exhibition curator 
“‘A Model’ is an opportunity to question our institution, the museum space and the act of collecting. This exhibition looks at the different ways of curating an exhibition, working with a collection and dealing with the specific space that is the museum,” says Steinbrügge.
Dodge’s proposal is immersive, far from a linear discourse. It is an approach that is in fact close to poetry. This is hardly surprising, since Dodge has also founded a publishing house where he publishes poetry. “Poetry and art are similar in that they operate in a similar way: you have certain objects and words and then you fill in the spaces in between,” explains Steinbrügge. “Jason looks at the institution through the eyes of an artist. It’s very lively work, very human, pure poetry. He uses the space to challenge other works of art. The material here comes from us. You have to look at this installation with an open mind, and try to discover all the allusions it carries. If you look carefully, you’ll discover a multitude of details and references, and you’ll be able to make links between the objects presented. He creates new landscapes, and new points of reference in that landscape. Through this installation, he questions who we are, and what we are in a museum.”
The poetry of living
While it’s easy to get behind the conceptual principle, it's harder to get behind the visual transposition. Visitors are confronted with a collection of abandoned objects strewn across the floor. Some are invented by the artist, others are real everyday objects. In any case, they are disturbing and questioning.
It’s impossible not to react to this installation: was it done on purpose? Has someone forgotten to sweep up? Is the cleaning service on strike? The artist has completely departed from the traditional codes of the museum White Cube. Nature--or the remnants of nature--have entered the rooms: dead leaves, feathers, insects, or rather the supposed presence of insects, as ant catchers are scattered here and there. Alongside these elements that evoke nature are strips of paper printed with acronyms suggesting chemical products. Have any toxic substances been used here? And these used forks? Was there a party?
Visitors navigate through a landscape that the artist has created and whose codes we do not fully master, rather like in real life. By associating ideas contained in the objects presented, visitors begin to ask questions, to recreate a story that would link these elements together, to give an explanation for their presence.
“These objects are traces of an activity that took place, proof that we were once here, alive,” explains Steinbrügge. “Jason Dodge shows us things we wouldn’t expect to see in a museum.”
In the end, this is what she wanted to show with her curatorial concept: a museum rooted in the present, emphasising the experimental nature of exhibitions, the increasing importance given to performance and proposals that thwart the traditional format of a work of art. The museum model is put to the test. And, by extension, the visitor too.
Part of A Model: Epilogue, “Jason Dodge. Tomorrow, I walked to a dark black star” is on display at Mudam until 8 September 2024.
This article was first published in French on Paperjam. It has been translated and edited for Delano.
