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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nEva Kolcze and Jessica Thalmann, images in The Time Being f<\/em>eed<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Time Being<\/a><\/em> is art in the form of an Instagram account. Set up during the summer, it contains regular posts by the artists and guest contributors including Jennifer Lee, Isabel M. Mart\u00ednez, Miryam Charles, Laura Grier and Meera Margaret Singh. The collection of images and short videos continues to grow with the steady addition of new posts. There are weekly themes within the stream such as \u2018site and destination \/ spaces not normally visited\u2019 or \u2018passageways, alleyways and hallways\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Working collaboratively,\nthe artists have curated a collection that reflects the eerie tranquility of\nlockdown. Here are some examples of what they\u2019ve discovered while the frenetic\npace of city life has been paused. <\/p>\n\n\n\n House Without a Roof<\/a><\/em> is a short video that captures a window reflection, a fleeting moment visible only from a particular angle. The reflected clouds create the illusion of a different sky behind the glass from the one above the building. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Eva Kolcze, House Without a Roof <\/a><\/em>video<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2728? ?<\/a><\/em> <\/a>(which I read as \u2018sparkling sun video\u2019) is a short clip of slow-moving water. Leaves float on the surface and we see down into the water and up into reflected trees, through which the sun glints. The shifting focus of the camera takes us from the trees in the background to a small insect fliting through the air and then back to the surface of the water. It takes a moment to realize that if the trees are the right way up in the reflection, the video itself must be inverted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Eva Kolcze,\u2728? ?<\/a> video<\/p>\n\n\n\n Grass and leaves under a layer of ice<\/a><\/em> is a video that captures a moment when water, over grass, moss and leaves is at the threshold of freezing and thawing. Small bubbles come up from below and travel under the thin ice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Grass and leaves under a layer of ice<\/a>, <\/em>video<\/p>\n\n\n\n Peeling back the layers. After years of wear and tear, painted storefronts reveal the brick bones underneath.<\/em> is the text next to a set of photos of similar building corners. We\u2019re shown the parallel patterns of decay next to these various doorways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Peeling back the layers. After years of wear\nand tear, painted storefronts reveal the brick bones underneath<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n These are just a few examples of what you will find on the feed. Would the artists have discovered these poetic moments if not for the pandemic? Perhaps. But I think empty streets, and an elevated sense of vigilance primed the artists to notice more. The images are directly linked to the unique circumstances of our current time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Images by Isabel M. Mart\u00ednez, Eva Kolcze and Jessica Thalmann in The Time Being <\/em>feed<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kolcze and Thalmann\nleverage the constraints within the platform to their advantage. Instagram is\ndesigned for phone camera photos, so they use their phones. It calls for square\nformats and short videos, so this is what they do. It allows for short text and\ncomments and they make the best use of these to complement the images. They go\nwith the technology rather than against it, and by doing so they are opening\nnew possibilities for others to be inspired by, and to expand upon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Time Being<\/em> provides a compelling example of how Instagram can be used for art. The account does not show little photos of art that exists as a richer experience somewhere else. The account is the art. The pictures, videos and text and the relationships between them is a whole, integrated, online artwork. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mikael Sandblom<\/p>\n\n\n\n *Exhibition information: The Time Being<\/a><\/em>, a project by Eva Kolcze and Jessica Thalmann, an Instagram exhibition<\/a>, January 13 – February 13, 2021, Angell Gallery, 1444 Dupont Ave, Unit 15, Toronto. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Mikael Sandblom<\/strong><\/p>\n The Time Being<\/em> provides a compelling example of how Instagram can be used for art. The account is the art. The pictures, videos and text and the relationships between them is a whole, integrated, online artwork. <\/p>\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n