About
PERIHELION AND APHELION (Confessional), 2023, detail, encaustic and mixed mediums on paper, installation size 396 x 260 cm
DOUBLE TAKE : NEW ENCAUSTIC WORKS @ ART WORKSHOP LAZARETI,
Dubrovnik, Croatia
June 23 until July 11, 2023 / Artist reception: Friday, 6/30
http://www.arl.hr
According to the well-known story, Daedalus, a mythical inventor, created wings made of feathers and wax to escape from Crete where he and his son, Icarus, were held captive by King Minos. Icarus, however, ignored his father's warnings and flew too close to the sun. His wings melted and he fell into the sea where he met his end. To this day, artists continue to create using feathers, papers, pigments, wax, and alike – reusing these “melted wings” while trying to reach their zenith. Like Icarus, they (and we all) continue to try, and continue to fail.
Icarus is instructed to fly between the extremes; not too high, but also not too low – but he is greedy and flies too close to the sun. It is not hard to interpret this story in the light of our arrogant, greedy, and relentless use and abuse of earth resources, resulting in the planetary climate crisis knocking on our door.
These are stories within stories. In my work I explore the encaustic process characterized by use of natural beeswax treated with fire/heat. My studio process depends on the “waste and retrieval method” – revisiting and recycling found images, objects, places, stories, and histories, often forgotten or cast-off, still lingering with potential. The idea is to re-examine them, and through the subjective lens of painting, make them accessible once again. As Marlene Dumas reminds us, second-hand images can still generate first-hand emotions.
installation view at Lazareti Art Gallery, Dubrovnik, Croatia, June 2023.