Dedans et Dehors (At Home and Abroad) 1965 - 1967

Curator: This drawing is entitled "Dedans et Dehors," or "At Home and Abroad," by Albert Edgar Yersin, created between 1965 and 1967. It's rendered in pen and ink. Editor: My first thought is how this work blends an intricate network of lines and textures to create this surreal landscape, or dreamscape; the overall effect has an almost ethereal, meditative quality to it. Curator: Indeed. Yersin's technique here challenges the viewer. One has to wonder what was going on culturally at this time; perhaps an exploration into different realms beyond the expected given the turbulence happening globally. The detailed line work may suggest the process of mapping one's way through chaos to a form of certainty, to get your bearings again in times of confusion and distress. Editor: You read the lines almost as a topographical map—lines indicating a shift in altitude, of different biomes and varying structures that make up a specific territory, a type of psychogeography in ink! Curator: Precisely! Look closely at the differing textures rendered by the pen. Some are finely hatched, creating dense shadows and volumes, while others consist of swirling lines that seem to suggest movement and flow of space in and around, creating a sense of depth, but flattening the image out once again. It really has an internal feeling being externalised, almost like trying to recall the steps of a journey one took, perhaps dream-led? Editor: I notice how certain areas seem more abstract, dissolving into pure pattern, which is offset by moments of clarity where forms cohere, and the landscape emerges and gives you your coordinates for this image. And how even that solar vortex at the top hints that you may not even be on this planet anymore, let alone finding familiarity. The relationship between abstraction and figuration within the drawing helps hold tension, visually that then gets released, drawing me further into Yersin’s world. Curator: It’s as if the very act of creating the landscape—of drawing it, mapping it—is what holds everything together. By laying each detail of process as another moment building onto the next is exactly where the value rests here in this work by Yersin, its visual mapping being almost cathartic during this stage of his life, or just generally where our cultures rested at the time. Editor: And yet, that vulnerability is precisely what makes the drawing so compelling to observe. I leave this viewing feeling strangely grounded and hopeful despite the abstraction within the artwork!