February 5 - March 4, 2023

Doom Scroll Triptych / All the Above / Consciousness Economy / Sarcastic Geometry / A Note on Writing

Above still images form “Doom Scroll Triptych”

Tell us about the artwork. What makes it unique?

“I layer images and footage of myself with animations, images, and text using a green screen. I build out a loose system of visual symbols and engage with them, both on screen as if I am my own avatar, but also off screen in the process of arranging them with software. These two aspects of my performance alternate: I perform within a network of symbolic associations, and return to edit the digital landscape. I end up discovering and then playing within a game without clearly defined rules. The symbols for me come loaded with psychological significance and I relate to them in that way when I perform and edit, but the language that would dictate their interactions or fix their meaning in place I allow to remain undefined. In this way, I reproduce a subconscious limit where meaning loses definition but still retains a semblance of connectivity outside of grammar: still within the realm of communication but at a new distance from language. This limit is like that brief slipping-off into dream when words are active in the mind but seem to relate to one another without the constraints of logic. For me, a corollary of this distance from language is a form of self-expression embedded with moments of opacity and inscrutability, where what is lost in translation leaves a timestamp of its disappearance, as if each symbol changes the rules of the system as much as it participates in it.”

Above still image from *“All of the Above”*

About the Artist:

David Cohn lives and works in Boston, Massachusetts. He studied philosophy during his time at Hampshire College, and later received his MFA from Northeastern University where he participated in an interdisciplinary arts program. His videos combine animated movements and footage. He performs in front of his video camera, edits these performances, and integrates these clips into digitally altered landscapes and networks of interrelated symbols. His videos have been included in local and international festivals and screenings, online exhibitions, and publications.