Ulysse


 

 

My exhibition aims to explore and communicate the uncertainty and unfairness of life through pain and suffering. My themes express the pain an individual can feel in his/her life. Through death and war, man has caused biological deformities.  I try to explore how suffering unfairness is a shared and tragically common state. I do not want to horrify my audience, I only aim to present some of the darker sides of our existence. I separated this theme and train of thought into two different branches. An “Individualist” branch where I look at more personal and individual forms of suffering in which the audience can directly relate. The second branch “Societal” expresses similar situations through bigger timeframes and ideologies, where they are more focused on groups or time periods that vary widely from one another. This is done in order to convey the timelessness of suffering.

This theme started with “055867eth” an assemblage of different casts creating a distorted left arm with a 6 fingered right hand. A found object (identification plate from a soldier) is also present in this piece in order to connect it to the idea of identity. Following this I experimented with different formats and scales, acrylic paint, 3D and 2D work with different materials and found objects. My work is overall very dark and monochrome, reflecting the gravity of my theme both figuratively and literally.

Artists that have influenced the way I explored the ideas and methods used in my work. Hans Bellmer and Otto Dix heavily influenced this with how their work reflected personal feelings and temptations. They both explored very personal and painful emotions and expressed them in different ways. Hans Bellmer greatly influenced the materials I used in my sculptures and the usage of found objects. Anselm Kiefer influenced the use of collages in my painting in order to give a richer and more complex result. 

My exhibition space takes a zigzag formation using six boards. I placed my pieces in a way to construct a symmetrical distribution of my work. Both my big canvases are separated by a panel in order for them not to dominate each other. Separated by smaller pieces allows for breathing room and breaks when the audience sees it. My 3D pieces are placed on plinths with sufficient space between them for them not to directly interfere with the 2D pieces. My exhibition is not created in a particular order, and the viewer should be able to understand my work when approaching the exhibition from any angle. 

What I want the audience to understand from my exhibition is to contemplate the violence and unfairness of life. Through violence of man and nature I wish to express our powerlessness behind this reality. I also want my audience to reflect on their own personal experiences and explore how they have impacted their lives. My aim is not to horrify my audience but to present some of the darker sides of our existence, where this part of reality is a constant throughout the history of mankind.
 

 

 

055867eth (March 2021)

Modroc, found object, steel wire, expanded concrete, acrylic

40 cm x 14 cm x 16 cm

Assemblage of castings made out of different body parts, 6 fingers, a right hand and a left arm. The anatomy of this piece is wrong, made to be disturbing. Accompanied by a WW2 Dog Tag, the piece is given an identity, linking to the reality of that life. This piece is a representation of the unfairness and limitations that reality presents. Through rough and uneven textures, this piece expresses deformities. Inspired by Hans Bellmer through ideas of distorted human anatomy and rough textures.

 

 

Stairs (December 2020)

acrylic on canvas 

24 cm x 30 cm

Stairs is a realistic painting from my own photograph from a bomb shelter. Shading and lighting are an important part of this piece, used in order to capture the details and recreate a dark portrayal of the original photograph. Inspired by Anselm Kiefer’s figurative painting. The intention of a staircase descending into the darkness is intentionally worrying.

Fake mask (May 2021)

Modroc and steel wire

15 cm x 15 cm x 9 cm

Fake piece is a cast of a jaw, deformed from its natural state; it is filled with holes, tears and burned ends. The Inside of the piece is filled with an entanglement of wires and residues of melted steel. The wires are rough and have pikes going out, making it painful when worn. Inspired by Otto Dix and his portrayal of human suffering and horrors he experienced in WW1. The texture of the piece is inspired by Hans Bellmer’s usage of rough and uneven texture.

 

 

Maggot beach (March 2021)

Blue paint, Black paint, Charcoal, Chalk and Wax pencil.

67 cm x 45 cm

Maggot beach is a rough and simple painting recreating the scene of 3 fallen WW2 us soldiers who were killed during the Battle of Buna-Gona. Rough and dry brushstrokes depict the main components of the original picture. The color blue is the main color used in the painting, soothing, calming it is very contrasting to the detailed and violent scene. Blurry details lose their contrast throughout the painting, where this event with time will be forgotten, just like the identity of these men.

Massalina (October 2021)

Acrylic paint, permanent marker, charcoal and pencil

149 x 77 x 1cm

This piece explores the unknown of one's self. Massalina is a painting depicting a distorted figure of a woman partially hidden behind blurry patches and white stripes created through the removal of tape. This combination is used to recreate the veil covering the woman in my original photo. Inspired by Alberto Giacometti’s portraits, I focused on clearly outlining lines with markers and then used acrylic paint and quick “blurry” brushstrokes to create a similar blended background.

 

 

Do 27 (January 2021)

Acrylic paint, tape, marker, canvas, cardboard, old fencing mask

42 x 27 x 16cm

Sculpture created from a fencing mask in poor condition. Covered in different materials, a 3D effect is created with the use of lines of tape, creating a geometric clash between the different shapes. The mixture of geometrical cut canvas pieces contrast with the lines of paint. Made out of a multitude of layers, the mask loses its original clean cut. Inspired by the Dada movement of “Dada head’s”. The piece here represents the decadence of traditional western ideology in the modern world.

 

 

Aurelius Vitalis (March 2022 )

Acrylic paint, permanent marker, collage

140 x 70 x 1cm

Aurelius Vitalis is a large painting depicting a distorted recreation of a Roman battle. Mixed with collages of a painting recreating the same battle by Samson Goetze. The collage pieces are used as hallmarks in the painting and are blended in with the paint in order to re-create the chaos of the event. The colour scheme is kept dark and simple, only changing in intensity in order to really represent and transmit how such events would have been chaotic.