Julien Discrit
What Is Not Visible Is Not Invisible, 2008
Julien Discrit’s What Is Not Visible Is Not Invisible exists in two stages which correspond to two states of the work. In the first, the infrared lamp is turned off and the lettering (in invisible ink) cannot be seen. In the second, the lamp is on and the work’s title phrase appears. (…) In Discrit’s work, the light is triggered by the viewer’s entrance, [clearly revealing] at once time and space (…). What Is Not Visible Is Not Invisible then emerges out of the consecutive perception of the two states (lamp on/lamp off). Contrary to what one might think, the work is not the lettering on the wall, or even “the lettering + the light.” The work exists in the transition from one to the other. It demonstrates visually what it affirms verbally.
Excerpt from Klaus Speidel’s text, taken from the Frac Lorraine website.