Daria O. MARTYNOVA Saint Petersburg State University
7-9, Universitetskaya Embankment (Universitetskaya naberezhnaya), Saint Petersburg, 199034, Russian Federation
Senior Lecturer at the Institute of History
PhD (in Art Studies)
e-mail: d.o.martynova@gmail.com
ORCID: 0000-0003-0426-6458
Martynova, D. (2025) The Materialization of the Borderline in photographs and installations by Ann Veronica Janssens and Catherine YassAbstract: This article analyzes the concept of the borderline in the works of contemporary artists Ann Veronica Janssens and Catherine Yass. The focus of the study are the photographs and installations created by these artists, and the main topic is the relationship between the representational and non-representational, tangible and intangible elements in their works. Janssens's images will be compared to her installations, which create visual hallucinations for the viewer.
As a result of the analysis, it has been found that both Janssens and Yass use light in their installations and photographs to transform and explore space and how it is perceived by the viewer. They aim to challenge the ocular-centric nature of the visual medium and to utilize the possibilities of visual psychology to create a non-judgmental interaction with their audience. The light in her work becomes liminal, threshold, purifying, and the photographic documentation both manifests the physicality of the subject in space and shows the destruction of their self within a foggy environment. Janssens' installations are based on the distribution of light and color in space, strong stroboscopic pulses that disturb vision and destroy objects. Photography acts as an index that captures the individual's identity and binds them to a specific location. In this context, the photo acts as a retina.
In the case of Catherine Yass, the physicality of photography is evident through the use of materials. Photography in her work acts as a kind of sculpture, changed either by the artist herself or the environment in which she places the image.
Key words: Ann Veronica Janssens, Catherine Yass, photography, materiality in visual culture, borderline in art, light installations, art of the twentieth century, visual communications.
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For Citation: Martynova, D. (2025) The Materialization of the Borderline in photographs and installations by Ann Veronica Janssens and Catherine Yass. International Journal of Cultural Research, 1 (58). 89–98. DOI: 10.52173/2079-1100_2025_1_89
DOI: 10.52173/2079-1100_2025_1_89
