THE ESSENCE PORTRAIT AS A CHANGE OF PERSPECTIVEHow do we recognise ourselves? Is self-knowledge possible without a counterpart? Looking in... Read More
THE ESSENCE PORTRAIT AS A CHANGE OF PERSPECTIVE
How do we recognise ourselves? Is self-knowledge possible without a counterpart? Looking in the mirror shows us an image of our appearance, including all our phenotypical characteristics and our natural ageing processes. And let's be honest, how many of us don't judge to our heart's content what we see in the reflection of our bathroom mirror? Our judgement may be good or bad. It remains a judgement. As a rule, we also judge other people according to how we view ourselves. We are practically born with it. But what if we were to change our perspective and sharpen our perception of our natural nature? What is a being anyway? How can we give form to that which is perceptible but not describable?
In her artistic work, Kim Kluge makes the invisible visible. She takes the reverse path of abstraction. Her tool is colour as a translation module of human traits. Each colour has its own essence with its own information. No two colours are alike. Every living being has a broad spectrum of essential colours such as earthy, airy, flowing or fiery in the most diverse combinations. It is not about a psychological interpretation, but about a view of colours and human characteristics in their natural state, as they are given by nature and not what they trigger in us. The psychological interpretation is more an emotional consequence of how we react to colours. Kim Kluge's works are about colour compositions that reflect the human being at its core. There is no claim to truth. Kim Kluge's processual works serve as a basis for a change of perspective on ourselves. Away from good or bad and towards a natural acceptance of all living beings on this colourful earth, regardless of external characteristics such as skin colour or gender.
