200 Series
Julian Turner
2017
Artist Statement
"200 series" is a scale model of a Japanese high-speed train from the early 1980s. While the roof of the train may be called an oil painting on canvas, the snow plow on the front is made from parts of an old beer can. The object has many functions: Lifted from its bridge-like pedestal, it serves as bench seating; if you open the roof, you will find a mini-bar. The slight imperfections are an integral part of Turner’s method. They give insights to the artistic practice, the materials and techniques used, and the difficulties of constructing and designing: Art is a lot of work.
Even in 2000, the bullet-shaped nose conveyed a sense of "future" that was already dated, stemming from the jet age. Yet it was still legit as a modern technological achievement of Japan. It was this contradiction that struck me. 20 years later, even the successors of this train are being phased out. But this is a testament to the original concept's success.
Artist Bio
Julian Turner, born in 1985 in Hamburg, is an artist living and working in Vienna. “Planned imperfection” is at the heart of Turner’s multimedia works, in which he cites and humorously challenges the conventions of the art business. Collages, models, material imitations and often repeated tropes like food, architecture and techniques are appropriated from everything the artist finds interesting, planted into the spaces they inhabit and charged with new meaning via his typical signature, which may be described as amateurish in the best sense of the word.