Ryan Gander
おかしなことが普通になってきたな (Poster encounter)
2021
Silkscreen print on Satin Kinfuji 135 kg paper
51.5 × 72.8 cm
Edition of 25 copies numbered and signed by the artist and 5 artist’s proofs
Unframed
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An English version of this edition is available here
“The strangeness gets more ordinary” was a sentence often heard by Ryan Gander since childhood. It is one of those sayings that his father would address to both himself and his family circle, including “I’m just resting my eyes” or “Let the world take a turn.”
The artist has already used the latter specimens as posters, billboards or wall paintings, inside and outside art spaces. Indeed, he often takes inspiration and even collaborates with his own family. His daughters helped him design a typeface based on a collection of stones and record the voice of a philosopher-mouse sticking its head out of a gallery wall, among other things. Yet, it is not really a matter of representing private life or family history here. It’s more about finding and cherishing creativity anywhere – children’s hands and elders’ mouths included. Instead of emphasising his own experience, Gander plays with the commonplace and with common sense. The strangeness gets more ordinary mentions a generic “Dad,” thus allowing everyone to appropriate it.
A saying is a typical product of common sense. It is something one repeats over and over for reassurance, to put reality in order, to deal with the unpredictability of events and behaviours. In this sense, “The strangeness gets more ordinary” is probably the purest form of saying, as it simultaneously exhibits a drop of anxiety and a rationality to overcome it. For Gander, it seems to be the most fitting motto for our troubled times.
Ryan Gander’s exhibition took place at Keijiban from April 15 to May 14, 2021.