Pope.L: ‘Between a Figure and a Letter’

For his first solo exhibition in Berlin, Between A Figure and A Letter, American interdisciplinary artist Pope.L has devised a new site-specific installation for the Schinkel Pavillon. Placed in the gallery’s exceptional first floor space, the installation Contraption is presented alongside a selection of works, ‘Skin Set Drawings,’ (1997-2011) and the video Small Cup (2008), shown in the basement. 

Contraption is a giant, orange machine that is regularly fed abstract sculptures that mimic Berlin’s famous architectural structures such as the Berliner Schloss and Alte Wache, representing the destructive nature of these power structures. Through this piece, Pope.L is continuing to engage with the ongoing conversation surrounding representations of racist violence and social inequality that he has been exploring throughout his career. By presenting this piece alongside two pieces from his earlier creative period, Between A Figure and A Letter encourages viewers to engage in both an artistic and socio-political dialogue surrounding racial representations and social inequality.

SLEEK: What was the inspiration behind Contraption?

Pope.L: PART OF THE INSPIRATION FOR ‘CONTRAPTION’ CAME FROM THINKING ABOUT ATTACHMENT OR HABIT or routine, MAYBE EVEN LOVE. MAYBE THESE ARE THE SAME? MAYBE NOT?—I WAS INTERESTED IN OUR EVERYDAY PRACTICAL and PSYCHOLOGICAL dependence on what we think we know because our relate it is ONE THING AFTER ANOTHER–WE CRAVE sequence YET WE find IT onerous–WE KNOW IT MAKES US STUPID AND DULL YET IT PROVIDES US A TENT, A CHURCH, A DESPOT, A STRUCTURE FOR OUR duration HERE ON THE PLANET–

S: How did the context of Berlin influence the creation of Contraption?

Pope.L: THE ARCHITECTURAL EFFECTS AND COSTS OF THE MUSEUM NEIGHBORHOOD AROUND THE SCHINKEL WAS AN IMPORTANT INFLUENCE. ALSO MAYBE MY VISITING VARIOUS RESTAURANTS IN THE AREA TO GET A CASUAL BITE TO EAT AND FINDING THE MERCHANTS SURVEILLING ME OVERLY CAREFULLY, I THINK THESE EXPERIENCES MIGHT HAVE HELPED. A SENSE THAT BERLIN IS A BIT TIGHT-ASSED city IF YOU ARE A CERTAIN KIND OF stranger. AND THEN THERE IS THE CITY’S OVERLY OBVIOUS RICHNESS, ITS OPULENCE AND HISTORICAL NOSTALGIA PORN–THIS RICHNESS AGAINST THE FACT THAT BERLIN IS A CITY currently IN a FINANCIAL CRISIS–

S: You said you’re drawn to overtones because it (the vibrations/sounds) creates things that aren’t there and there is something specific about the Schinkel Pavillon space, where the viewer can follow different paths leading to smaller rooms. How do you want the viewers to feel when they’re experiencing the exhibition and individual pieces?

Pope.L: YOU ARE CORRECT, I MAY INDEED HAVE SAID THAT OVERTONES ‘ARE NOT THERE’ BUT THEY MUST BE THERE IF ONE HEARS THEM, NO? THEY MUST BE THERE IN SOME! WAY–BUT THE INTERESTING QUESTION IS IN WHAT WAY? AND HOW DOES THAT BEAR ON ONE’S INTERPRETATION OF THE ARTWORK CONSUMED OR THE NEIGHBORHOOD OR THE CITY of consumption? YOUR SECOND QUESTION IS MORE DIFFICULT ONLY BECAUSE YOU ARE ASKING ME TO ACCOUNT FOR A VERY LARGE VARIETY OF EFFECTS IN THE EXHIBITION–SO I WILL BE AS ELEGANT AS I CAN IN MY ANSWER–AS AUDIENCE ONE SHOULD try to be A GOOD AND DEDICATED ACTIVIST DETECTIVE–TAKE NOTHING AT FACE VALUE BUT VALUE ALL, LOOK AT THE SURFACE BUT PHILOSOPHIZE THE DEPTH–

S: You also mentioned that “what’s excluded can exacerbate the conversation.” Do you consider this with all your works during its creation? What kind of conversations do you want to see the audience having with this particular exhibition?

Pope.L: THIS IS A, THIS IS A WONDERFUL AND PROVOCATIVE QUESTION WHICH I EITHER ANSWERED ABOVE IN THE PREVIOUS QUESTION OR TO WHICH I HAVE NO ANSWER AT ALL. I CAN SAY THIS, LABOR IS A KEY MATERIAL IN MAKING AND CONSUMING ARTWORKS, THEREFORE WHAT AN AUDIENCE PERSON CONTRIBUTES IN RESPONSE TO AN ARTWORK IS VERY IMPORTANT BUT ALSO HOW MUCH TIME THE PERSON SPENDS DOING so. THE WORK EXHIBITED IN ‘BETWEEN A FIGURE AND A LETTER’ ARE NOT ARRAYED IN A STRAIGHT LINE, THEY are DISTRIBUTED LIKE THE PIECES OF A PUZZLE OR THE FRAGMENTS OF NEURONS IN AN ALZHEIMERs PATIENT’s noggin.

S: When text can both mean “something” and “nothing” – what roles does ‘text’ play in your artworks?

Pope.L: I LIKE THIS QUESTION CAUSE the FIRST clause IS BOTH BRILLIANT AND STUPID WHICH IS THE BEST COMBINATION FOR THIS TYPE OF QUESTION. IN COMPARISON, MY ANSWER WILL PROBABLY DISAPPOINT—- TEXT IN MY WORK OPERATES IN VARIOUS WAYS–AS WILL, AS DESIRE, AS INFORMATION–AS OBJECT, ATMOSPHERE, DISTRACTION, PERFORMANCE, MUSIC, A SHOUT, A SCREAM, A bark in the shout, A SHOT IN THE DARK…

Pope.L: Between a Figure and a Letter
9 April – 31 July 2022