Josèfa Ntjam: ‘Quantum Mecanic’
Josèfa Ntjam, Quantum Mecanic, 2020. HD film, 7 min 7 sec. Commissioned by Les Ateliers Médicis (online). Courtesy of the artist and NıCOLETTı
About the Work
Problematizing the notion of time, in Quantum Mecanic Josèfa Ntjam questions its interpretation in quantum physics and the shift in its apprehension following the period of isolation during Covid-19. The film initially unfolds within a linear timeline but this is soon disrupted as its main character rejects the idea of T time. Inspired by Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle – a theory demonstrating the impossibility of calculating two properties of the same particle simultaneously – Ntjam’s work conjures up an undulating time in which it becomes impossible to determine the position of the character. Embracing a system of probability divergent from that of classical physics the film presents a time that accumulates in layers, infinitely stretching out.
About the Artist
Josèfa Ntjam (b.1992; based in Saint-Étienne, France) is an artist, performer and writer whose practice combines sculpture, photomontage, film and sound. Her work weaves multiple narratives drawn from investigations into historical events, scientific functions, philosophical concepts, African mythology, ancestral rituals, religious symbolism and science fiction. These (apparently) heterogeneous discourses and iconographies are marshalled together in an effort to re-appropriate history while speculating on indetermined space-times – interstitial worlds where systems of perception and fixed (id)entities no longer operate. Recent exhibitions and performances include LVMH Métiers d’Art, Paris (2024); Fotografiska, New York (2024); Barbican Art Gallery, London (2023); Centre Pompidou, Paris (2022) and Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2022).
About EMAP x FRIEZE FILM SEOUL
For the third year in a row, Frieze Film returns to Frieze Seoul 2024. This year’s programme is presented in partnership with Ewha Media Art Presentation (EMAP) and is on view from 2 – 6 September at Ewha Womans University and online at frieze.com.
Curated by Joowon Park and Valentine Umansky, this year’s programme is titled ‘All that Weaves the Universe: Of Quantum Entanglements’. It brings together time-based media works of 37 international artists, unfolding under eight chapters.
