Egle Jauncems

The Paler King I

The title of this work by Egle Jauncems, The Paler King I, is taken from an unfinished novel by the late David Foster Wallace called The Pale King, published posthumously in 2015. Jauncems notes that the book is fragmented, following unrelated characters struggling with ennui and depression, navigating the pressures of modern reality. In her art practice, Jauncems has been interested in the lives of powerful and influential men for many years. She sees her artwork as representations of “tired, bored and exhausted figures trapped in complex artificial worlds.” Made from remnants of canvases or woven works, some of her own and some salvaged from fellow artists, The Paler King bears a motif resembling an inverted fleur-de-lis, a regal symbol, among the tattered materials that hang down in a bedraggled manner. Jauncems has always been interested in symbols of imperial and regal power and is particularly fascinated by Ingres’ portrait of Napoleon complete with imperial trappings. The torn remnants hang from a rod like exhausted garments. The elements are not in a fixed position and can be rearranged at will. Thus the work remains in an ‘unfinished’ state, like Foster Wallace’s book. The sense of disrepair in the fabrics also calls to mind the clothing of unfortunate people who have fallen from safe positions into destitution. Or perhaps to the scraps they put together to cover themselves in place of blankets to keep warm. The work underscores a sense of destitution so commonly found in our society, and in particular, at the margins.