“The Paper Curtain” is the latest project by international artist Kristin Man, developed during her residency at Luisa Catucci Artlab. The title, a playful yet poignant use of words, immediately evokes the era of the Iron Curtain, the political boundary that once divided Europe into two separate areas—a metaphor that feels uncomfortably relevant once again.

However, the original metaphor is not at the core of Kristin’s research. While the exhibition’s title subtly invites reflection on the current international political situation, her focus lies on spirituality and psychological borders. Kristin explores the surpassing of the self to reach wholeness within oneself, and harmony with the universe, believing that such personal transformation, when achieved on a large scale, could have profound political and social consequences.

In February 2023, while pursuing her advanced yoga teacher training certification program, Kristin contacted a local university-based neuroscience laboratory to conduct simultaneous investigations in the fields of philosophy, bodywork, and science. The goal was to explore potential paradoxes and parallels and, perhaps, to find her sense of reality somewhere in between. The lab’s neuroscientists assisted her in making EEG recordings of her brain activity during meditations. These recordings are embedded in many of her artworks. For “The Paper Curtain,” Kristin also recorded the brain waves of participants in the yoga workshops she conducted during her residency, before and after class, for comparison. 

Kristin’s efforts to place the scientifically measurable reality of the human brain in dialogue with transcendent experiences derived from metaphysical investigations suggest that her project is an ongoing experiment. It represents her rumination and embodiment of her micro-macro cosmos. “The Paper Curtain” is an evolution of Kristin’s previous research presented at Gallery 881 in Vancouver, Canada, under the title “UNDERCURRENT,” which in turn evolved from her earlier work “A-MARE,” the initiating spark of her current body of work.

While working on locating her own “Self” amidst a passage through six countries and ongoing global upheavals, Kristin began this concatenation of research with the questions: “What would the impact be on my consciousness if I were able to see my mind as a radiologist can examine an x-ray?” and “What form would my art take if I were able to combine my inner and outer seascapes?” Now, the question has slightly shifted to “What form would my art take if I were able to conquer and pass my inner and outer borders?” while she extends this questioning to the viewers.

On the opening day,“The Paper Curtain” will be presented with a sound performance created and programmed by artist Nikita A. Trachtenberg Zhukovskiy at 3:30 pm, weaving Kristin’s EEG brain waves and the various “confines/membranes” of the exhibition space. Waves are essential elements in Kristin Man’s spiritual and artistic research.
This is the first time Kristin’s weaves are presented as audible sounds in conjunction with the visuals.