BASTARDS (SHADOW WORKERS): JULIAN-JAKOB KNEER
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Julian-Jakob Kneer, BASTARD (SHADOW WORKER, 1), 2024 -
Julian-Jakob Kneer, BASTARD (SHADOW WORKER, 2), 2024
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Julian-Jakob Kneer, BASTARD (SHADOW WORKER, 3), 2024
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Julian-Jakob Kneer, BASTARD (SHADOW WORKER, 4), 2024
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Julian-Jakob Kneer, BASTARD (SHADOW WORKER, 5), 2024
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Julian-Jakob Kneer, BASTARD (SHADOW WORKER, 6), 2024
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Julian-Jakob Kneer, BASTARD (SHADOW WORKER, 7), 2024
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Julian-Jakob Kneer, BASTARD (SHADOW WORKER, 8)
Galleri Golsa is pleased to present BASTARDS (SHADOW WORKERS), a solo exhibition by Swiss artist Julian-Jakob Kneer. In this fourth installment of Kneer’s ongoing BASTARDS series, the artist presents monochrome printed silver mirrors in polished, custom-made galvanized frames. Each work is composed of layered collages, combining three seemingly unrelated movie posters, juxtaposed to create a haunting interplay between memory, pop culture, and the subconscious.
The posters, devoid of vibrant color, appear as if they’ve been left to fade under the weight of time—muted, weathered, and rendered in cool blue-grey tones. Their surfaces, polished to a mirror-like finish, invite viewers into a space of reflection—both literal and figurative. These shadowy images, like artifacts of forgotten narratives, evoke a sense of "shadow work," where the neglected and unseen elements of culture and identity rise to the surface. Kneer’s treatment of the posters strips away the familiar, leaving behind fragments of narrative suspended between recognition and abstraction.
The traditional clip frame presentation of the posters adds to the deceptive simplicity of the works, reminiscent of classic movie memorabilia. Yet Kneer’s polished treatment transforms them into something far more complex—distorted mirrors that force us to confront the blurred line between reality and illusion, morality and non-morality.
Kneer himself describes his intent:
“I don’t care about making some grand conceptual art statement. I refuse immorality and morality, but instead adopt a stance of ‘non-morality’. I want to offer you something outside a fraudulent art world filled with artists who demand that you adhere to their personal viewpoints and opt for aesthetic and ideological ambiguity.”
Accompanying the exhibition is a provocative essay by Tea Hačić-Vlahović, who reflects on the collision of stories, pop culture, and the ambiguity present in Kneer’s work:
“Julian-Jakob Kneer embraces this madness through custom frames featuring seemingly unrelated stories which are pressed into an orgy of ideas, a sweaty metro full of creeps. You don’t need a product when you have a promise. You don’t need morals when you’ve got bastard standards...what are standards anyway? We navigate life through binaries in order to make sense of nonsense. Who’s side are you on?”
In BASTARDS (SHADOW WORKERS), Kneer strips away the gloss of familiar narratives and forces us to look deeper—beyond the surface, where shadows of memory and culture linger, waiting to be confronted.
What does the movie poster of your life look like? Lush and romantic or brutal and bleak? 1998 was a good year for films. Scooby Doo on Zombie Island, Practical Magic, Buffalo 66, The Parent Trap! When watching films made in the same year, taking place in the same spots, you “can’t help but wonder,” (Carrie Bradshaw voice), what if these stories and plots crossed over? What if a slasher film creeped into your cartoon? Why not? That’s how real life works. In the same apartment building in the same moment two lovers can be climaxing while another couple suffers murder-suicide.
Films are magic because they let us pretend we can control life’s themes and narratives. But anybody waking up feeling like a firing squad is waiting for them in the bathroom since their lover hasn’t texted them back knows that life is impossible to direct. The movie poster of your childhood versus adolescence versus adult life are completely different genres. Sometimes I switch genres between one day and the next, especially depending on what I’m drinking.
In this psycho present-future, we’re all walking billboards, advertising the “plot” of our routine. Julian-Jakob Kneer embraces this madness through custom frames featuring seemingly unrelated stories which are pressed into an orgy of ideas, a sweaty metro full of creeps. You don’t need a product when you have a promise. You don’t need morals when you’ve got bastard standards…what are standards anyway? We navigate life through binaries in order to make sense of nonsense. Who’s side are you on?
The other day I passed by an early morning fish market in Venice. I witnessed a seagull try to steal a fish from a pile of ice. I don’t interfere with nature; it’s none of my business! When the fisherman caught me gawking at the attempted theft, first he told the bird to fuck off, and then he did the same to me. Fair enough. But really, whose side should you choose? My alliance first goes to the fish, but she’s already dead. So I chose the bird’s side. Sure, she’s stealing, and the fisherman worked hard for his catch, but he’s part of the sick system.
It doesn’t matter which team you pick, we all lose either way. Regardless of our unique experiences all our films end the same way. So why not play in the meantime? The plot continues with or without you.
Kneer’s movie posters make a mess of your nostalgia, poke a hole in your pop culture pumping heart and laugh at your hurt feelings about it. Don’t be so precious over what was never yours. Don’t be protective over images that were force-fed to you. Bite the hand that punches a hole through your free admission ticket.
– Tea Hačić-Vlahović (@teahacic)