John Knight's Exhibition at Greene Naftali Explores Paranoia Through Diary Slides and Video Works

John Knight's exhibition at Greene Naftali Gallery presents a compelling body of work with minor exceptions. Running from November 11, 2015 to January 8, 2016, the show features video and projection pieces presented as a single unnamed curation. A new series of slides functions as dated diary entries with white text on black backgrounds, recounting the artist's work on a lithograph project through narratives of mystery and intrigue. Knight portrays himself as ambivalent about collaborators plotting a print production like underground rebels, with notes suggesting desires to inform or escape. This exploration of paranoia's blind spots and heightened anxiety around mundane interactions follows Trevor Paglen's NSA documentation at nearby Metro Pictures, which closed in October. The work resonates with contemporary demands for surveillance of suspected jihadist sympathies in the US and Europe. Located at 508 West 26th Street between 10th and 11th avenues, the exhibition includes a press release describing the slide series as indicative of Knight's interest in 'Disclosure.'