My Girlfriend’s Aunt’s Photos from College
Dawn Biernacki

April 29 — May 28, 2020

Jargon Projects is proud to present our inaugural exhibition My Girlfriend’s Aunt’s Photos from College by Dawn Biernacki, curated by Ethan Kennemer. The exhibition consists of 17 black and white photographs taken by Biernacki (the aunt of Kennemer’s partner) from 1995 - 1997 during her undergraduate studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. These works are also accompanied by a single sculptural piece set atop a pedestal that belonged to Biernacki’s late grandmother. The photos in the exhibition are presented in the same manner as they were during Biernacki’s class critiques — pinned and taped directly to the walls. This collection of images curated by Kennemer echoes the timelessly dramatic and juvenile, yet wholly genuine, aesthetics of student work that persist in art schools today. The exhibition aims to celebrate these creative decisions through the lens of nostalgia. While Biernacki did not go on to pursue a career in the art world, her images serve to remind artists that all ideas must start somewhere, whether they are immediately met with praise, scorn, or embarrassment, and that at some point, perhaps even 25 years down the line, their work has the chance to be recharged and reexamined.