light and dark

Most of my paintings express my search for understanding which is here symbolised by a certain underlying order. It is not a perfect order but the regularity of the stripes gives the chaos in my life, in my thoughts and in the world out there a basic grid – something to hold on to. It leaves room for individuality as a person among all other humans who are not perfect either, but it is these differences, our edges that make out our character while also challenge our tolerance.

At the same time the grid of stripes is like our days, hours, seasons - regular repetition that can however never be precisely planned which is like the way I apply the paint. The element of randomness by using a spatula instead of well directed brush strokes is like the way our lives evolve. We can plan as best as we want to but there will always be an element of surprise, there will be overlaying influences that change everything. We want to have everything under control but we can never achieve this lever of precision.

To me the beauty lies in all of this- accepting and embracing the randomness and the unknown, cherishing the differences that can cause tension but that are the most interesting aspects to explore.

In this painting " light and dark" I covered the bright coloured stripes underneath first with withe paint like a fog that makes everything blurry and then with bright yellow paint hiding all the colours that were there before- This hazy vison however got a top layer with black printing ink applied by rubber roll which although being black astonishingly brings some clarity back into the painting by enhancing the edges of the individual strokes. 

It symbolises the struggles in life. Losing the clarity in thought, looking at a bright future which could become tainted. But by bringing back the character of the individual you might see clearer again. It was an encouragement to myself at the time when I created the painting – in particular as a woman: don´t just blend in or bend/compromise too much or be corrupted but rather discover and stand by who you truly are. That makes all the difference.