Jonathan Monk’s artistic work has its origins in the contemplation and alteration of previously existent creative concepts: forms of expression derived from pop art, minimalist and conceptual art appear equally as strategies and parodies in his pictures, collages, objects, installations and films. In the process of quotation and simultaneous modification of the quoted subject matter Monk’s work shifts between memory, imagination and a tangible condition. The artist attributes a distinct temporality to the individual piece, while raising the validity thereof to question – often in a humorous way.

In his current exhibition Jonathan Monk is showing fourteen different electronic devices from the area of home entertainment. Powered speakers, a flat-screen monitor, an iPod, a radio alarm clock or an interactive video game console – the new and functional brand name devices selected by Monk form a cross-section of the range of products to be found in an electronics retail store. However, the artist undermines their usability by presenting the individual devices in custom-fitted plexiglass showcases, therefore conserving them as objects.

Christina Irrgang