"To index is to fix, to point out, to sort, to organize, to categorize into meaning. The index signifies, it indicates, it declares. The pointing of the index finger is a milestone in early child development, a primal communicative signal. When a child points she directs the gaze of her parent to an object of interest and she comes into a language community through this social gesture. Tom Blake’s indexing is an offering, a distillation of subtle events drawn out of the close and careful observation of his surround." - Sarah Robayo Sheridan, Assistant Professor, Visual Art at the University of Toronto.
Tom Blake’s latest solo exhibition, index of a stream, presents new de-silvered mirrors and cyanotypes alongside a series of looping videos developed during an 8-week residency at Treasure Hill Artist Village (Taipei), as part of PICA’s International Studio Residency Program. These works are accompanied by new poems from acclaimed filmmaker Tsai Ming-liang, written in direct response to Tom’s video pieces.
Together, index of a stream forms a compelling body of work that continues to deepen the artist's engagement with themes of fragmentation, repetition, opacity and the function of notational gestures within architectural and choreographic frameworks.
Together, index of a stream forms a compelling body of work that continues to deepen the artist's engagement with themes of fragmentation, repetition, opacity and the function of notational gestures within architectural and choreographic frameworks.
