Observing the behaviour of our political and sociological constructs, I offer a visual experience centred on the question of the true independence of the individual in the face of collective absurdity.
Today’s growing trend for the need to belong to a group in order to define oneself and justify one’s presence within society is to me the very definition of the loss of identity and individual determination, essentially a total loss of free will. It is, of course, paramount that we keep social structures in place and unity within groups to rally for change and speak out against injustices. However, decades of perpetual conflict and economic insecurity and the promotion of false information has created an atmosphere of the ‘them and us’. It has encouraged modern clannism and exclusionary behaviours.
In my realistic figurative paintings the repetition of my own image, my back, is used as a motif. Growing up before the advent of social media, I witnessed fundamental changes to society as a result of its immergence and the immediate access to mobile phones creating today’s image-driven hyper-narcissistic ecosystem. To this effect, I have put myself at the centre of my work with my back turned as an ironic take on a society indisputably consumed by the face. In my opinion this inward-looking trend is a mass coping mechanism to the trauma perpetuated on the outside, out of our control, in a present, and what appears to be a future, established in violence and urgency, with no end in sight.
More than simply commenting on popular culture’s self-obsession, the use of this motif is threefold referencing anonymity, civic responsibility and absurdity. Whilst the paintings are not self-portraits in a traditional sense, I feel strongly that responsibility starts with self and the importance of bearing the weight of my concept. In conjunction with the titles, that are meant as mini manifestos, we are immersed into an absurd world where the figures are staged to play out their conceptual roles.
Today’s growing trend for the need to belong to a group in order to define oneself and justify one’s presence within society is to me the very definition of the loss of identity and individual determination, essentially a total loss of free will. It is, of course, paramount that we keep social structures in place and unity within groups to rally for change and speak out against injustices. However, decades of perpetual conflict and economic insecurity and the promotion of false information has created an atmosphere of the ‘them and us’. It has encouraged modern clannism and exclusionary behaviours.
In my realistic figurative paintings the repetition of my own image, my back, is used as a motif. Growing up before the advent of social media, I witnessed fundamental changes to society as a result of its immergence and the immediate access to mobile phones creating today’s image-driven hyper-narcissistic ecosystem. To this effect, I have put myself at the centre of my work with my back turned as an ironic take on a society indisputably consumed by the face. In my opinion this inward-looking trend is a mass coping mechanism to the trauma perpetuated on the outside, out of our control, in a present, and what appears to be a future, established in violence and urgency, with no end in sight.
More than simply commenting on popular culture’s self-obsession, the use of this motif is threefold referencing anonymity, civic responsibility and absurdity. Whilst the paintings are not self-portraits in a traditional sense, I feel strongly that responsibility starts with self and the importance of bearing the weight of my concept. In conjunction with the titles, that are meant as mini manifestos, we are immersed into an absurd world where the figures are staged to play out their conceptual roles.