Diana Poole

Curator - May 2020

Diana Poole, art advisor and curator, has chosen to collaborate with Jessica Backhaus. Jessica is a visual artist and is regarded as one of the most distinguished voices in contemporary photography today. This instalment of Guest Room goes out at an unprecedented time with most of the world having experienced a life in lock-down that has radically changed how we think and live.

Jessica selected the following quote from a work by Joseph Beuys (1977), as the theme for this Guest Room: “Wer Nicht Denken Will Fliegt Raus” (Who is Unwilling to Think is Dismissed).

Jessica chose this theme before Covid-19, she found it radical and particularly current during these times of post-truth politics. Then the pandemic hit, and both she and Diana felt Beuys’ words more poignantly than ever. Diana began delving into links between the two artists’ ideologies, and found a unifying thread in how their art can be seen as a “conscious act”, inseparable from everyday life. This led to a desire to bring Jessica’s work into the curation. In the last two weeks alongside the Open Call, Jessica created a series of images responding to Joseph Beuys, made in confinement in Berlin.

Thank you to all artists who have shared their work during these unsettling times. I’m inspired by the depth of thinking that has gone into every submission, so much so that I have included a few artist statements throughout the curation. – Diana

Joseph Beuys, “Wer Nicht Denken Will Fliegt Raus (Who is Unwilling to Think is Dismissed)”, 1977