Emulsion paint on concrete // 60 x 80 cm // 2020
The acrylic paintings are designed to inspire contemplation, self-reflection, and self-exploration. The insights gained from engaging with these works aim to support the identification and eventual liberation from processes of self-sabotage and self-deception.
Simultaneously, the oppressive terror imposed by various philosophical, ideological, spiritual, and/or religious concepts on consciousness and the mind is made visible. The terms used are predominantly imperatives and nouns from philosophy, psychology, sociology, mysticism, and other fields, describing specific states of consciousness and narratives.
On one level, the paintings encompass an encyclopedic, etymological dimension of meaning, while on another, they present a formal dialectical dimension. The formal dialectical layer becomes most apparent where contradictions stretch to the brink of absurdity. By preceding all terms with a hashtag, the dichotomy between analog and digital is formally dissolved.
Since each painting was applied on the same underlying canvas, with the previous image always painted over, only digital files—transformed representations of the analog paintings—remain. In arranging and grouping the terms, I emphasized poetics, particularly rhythm. The poetic arrangement of the terms, coupled with the hashtags, blurs the supposedly dichotomous qualities of functionality and aesthetics.
Furthermore, the painterly rendering of the terms dissolves the boundaries between text and image.
The raw, uncompromising, almost brutal brushstrokes are intended to illustrate the contemplative, self-reflective practice being advocated.
September 2020