See, 2020, Plaster, paint, collage, fabric, 35,5 x 28,5 x 4 cm.
During the tests, I found an interesting idea of combining relief and painting. It turns out that the drawing focused on two-dimensional perception, and the relief is already on three-dimensional. I decided to take my hidden face theme with a black rectangle. I will not notice the hand with the phone as a relief, and I will draw the face.
I used an imaginary image of a girl because the main task was to focus on the process and not think about the result. The colours turned out to be too bright, so later I will try to work on a more muted scale. Initially, I use bright colours because I want to create a sense of fun and celebration as opposed to the sad reality of focus on the phone and lack of a person's face.
When the portrait was finished, it seemed to me that the picture was not cosy enough. Something was missing. By refining the relief with collage and scraps of material, more narrative emerges.
As a result, painting on the relief reminded me of the portraits from Fayum. Big open eyes, trying to see something.
Fayum mummy portrait of a man named Herakleides, 50–100 AD, Getty Villa At: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fayum_mummy_portraits#/media/File:Arte_romano-egizia,_mummia_di_herakleides,_50-100,_02.JPG (Accessed 29.09.2020)
About the resulting effect. The outline of the handstands out from the surface. Facial features cross the fingers. In nature, a hand in front of the face would mean that it is closed. In this situation, the hand was not drawn, but its volume is there. Thus, both the hand exists and it is not, and the face is and it is not.
How can this interpret the theme of our interaction with the Internet and new media? Layering is the first thing that comes to my mind. Multilevel. Complexity. There is a mixing of drawing and sculpture at some other level. Also, there is a mixing of our perception of the visual image through the phone and the real world. I want to work on this idea further because I emotionally feel a great interest in the experience.
While working on this project, purely by chance, I saw the work of Kyle Vu Dunn.
Repost from _kyledunn_ At: Instagram (Accessed 19.09.2020)
I studied his approach to work and interests. Kyle Vu Dunn uses foam, plaster, acrylic, fibreglass, gel and other materials which creates a multi-layered artwork. Through composition and colour, the artist conveys his experience as a gay person. Especially "There aren’t enough images of men acting soft or vulnerable which is something I have been thinking about" - says Kyle Vu Dunn. (Dunn, 2017, online)
in progress. Posted on August 17, 2017, by Inertia Studio Visits. Studio Visit – Kyle Vu Dunn At: https://inertiastudiovisits.com/2017/08/17/studio-visit-with-kyle-vu-dunn-in-queens-ny/ (Accessed 29.09.2020)
Another artist who interested me in a combination of drawing and sculpture is Lukas Thaler.
Lukas Thaler: A Disguised Form of an Old Toad (Dōnotsura), 2020. Mortar, plaster, cast marble, acrylic, fibre-reinforced foam board, oak frame 30 x 60 x 2 cm At: http://exilegallery.org/exhibitions/cruel-summer-camp/ (Accessed 29.09.2020)
There is a witty combination of abstract relief and human-like pattern. Probably the whole structure is heavyweight. The title of the work refers to the Japanese fictional creature, which should mean a double attitude towards the situation. On the one hand, hidden inside a person, on the other, shown on the face. In my opinion, the intersection of the drawing over the relief gives more emotion and ground for thought. In this case, an idea presented very direct, with a mix of emotions by an abstract relief and a silhouette of the Dōnotsura.
Bibliography and references
Posted on August 17, 2017 by Inertia Studio Visits. Studio Visit – Kyle Vu Dunn At: https://inertiastudiovisits.com/2017/08/17/studio-visit-with-kyle-vu-dunn-in-queens-ny/ (Accessed 29.09.2020)
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