The initials of everything

- A discussion between Tania Nasielski (curator) and Juan Pablo Plazas (artist).

- The project From G to B to K and C (Katelijne, Catherine, Kairos and Cairo) (30.09 > 21.11.2021) presented by Juan Pablo Plazas at CENTRALE.lab stems from different needs that are symptomatic of the times we are living in: the urge to meet, to have contact, to share space, to exchange perspectives, opinions or simple stories. For Plazas, stories are paths leading to what otherwise cannot be perceived about people, places or situations. The title with initials refers to a dynamics of impressions, fragments of things, narratives and material evidence collected to inhabit the exhibition space as a work-in-progress, taking into account fellow artists, visitors, people who work in the art centre, and the here and now.

“I guess you’re familiar with the concept of initials, the first letter of a word that stands for the rest of the letters. My initials are JP, for example. There is something very personal and public at the same time about initials. JP are my initials but so are they to someone called Jean-Pierre, to an investment bank, to a brand of wines, and to the Justice and Peace services of many cities.  A simple letter could represent the initials of someone’s name, the name of a place and the short version of a concept or an organization. This could be confusing sometimes if you don’t know what the letter is referring to. It could also be a very clear sign of how a person could also be a territory, an organization could be just a concept, or a place could mean a person to someone.” JPP

At CENTRALE.lab, Juan Pablo Plazas conceives an in situ installation which includes works made by fellow artists and deals with the specificity of CENTRALE.lab’s architecture. Bringing to mind climbing walls, Plazas’ presentation walls become new cases holding coloured shapes and objects – some made by Plazas, some borrowed or received – brought together to co-inhabit in the exhibition space.