Vienna, Austria

I Found U Collective

Reaching to Hong Kong and New York to hug the world

Staudingergasse 13, Vienna, Austria

Terrain Biennial provides an opportunity for the collective to collaborate in exhibitions together in Uruguay, LA, Vienna, and Chicago.  At the Vienna location, Hong Kong based artist Janet Lee and New York City based artist James Jaxxa show works. Both artists seek inspiration from social environments that were disrupted during the pandemic. Janet Lee’s practice is informed from her experiences in the banking industry. The anxiety of her own complicity in the current social structure forms an integral part of her practice that explores the global economy and examines notions of identity. James Jaxxa is drawn to the after-office hours. He relates his work to a high-energy dance club, where he finds joyful abandon to meet desperation and loneliness. His art celebrates ideas of vulnerability, courage and queer liberation.

By reaching with one hand towards Hong Kong based Janet Lee and the other one towards New York City based James Jaxxa, I am performing a hug. A simple physical gesture, we haven’t been able to experience in our digital artist friendships yet. A hug from Vienna, spanning from Hong Kong to New York

I Found U is a global collective of interdisciplinary artists with a commitment to discourse and collaboration. The artists were brought together through an online residency which took place during the pandemic, the context of which created a heightened sense of interconnectedness, mutual precarity and care that infused and informed our artistic inquiries at that time. Over the following months, our discussions expanded beyond the moment to include environmental, sociological, and economic concerns.

website: http://www.ifounducollective.com