Short concept: At the times of extensive outer and inner conflicts around the globe, the search for spirituality and meaning of life, faith in religion is especially relevant. Two different sides of the face in these artworks are depicting completely different human states of mind and invite to explore life and death, light and dark, stress and calm, loud and quit. The cycle of artworks with unified title, The Easy Choice, explore the belief that a being embodies both body and soul, and that an understanding of something comes from learning it’s opposite. More about this artwork cycle: https://www.lauraguoke.com/ritsona-portraits
Full text: Very likely and, undoubtedly, on a number of occasions you have read or heard about the human consciousness training (actually, all religions talk about this), the conflict between unceasing, uneasy mind and soul, and the completely opposite activity in the right and left human cerebral hemispheres. Different sides of the face, representing different human spiritual conditions are depicted in paintings and sculptures in artwork cycle “Easy Choice”. One of them is never ceasing to think (voice in the head), judge, deny, groan, backbite, degrade others and own self, i.e. a person for whom it is never enough of power, riches, recognition, etc. Another one is calm and surrendered to what is and what is given to the man by this single life. We could notice how many people suffer from their identification with mind, from their vicious thinking and its predetermined consequences as well as realize that it is possible to liberate from constant inner suffering and dissatisfaction and that this liberation is rather simple. From the today's perspective, when searching for spirituality, the meaning of life, religious reliance/ faith is particularly relevant, two sides of the face depicting two completely different human states invite to reflect on the current and slightly different problems.
He must increase; I must decrease (John 3, 30).
Artworks were inspired by this line from the Bible and also by the painting of an unknown author of 1874. John the Baptist anticipated the end of his life and the coming of Jesus Christ and therefore two different sides of the same face are depicted. One eye is anxious, opened, whereas another is calm, resigned and almost closed. It is also important to mention here that the head of John the Baptist was started to solely depict as cut off and held on a platter from the late Middle Ages. It was believed that such paintings and sculptures had a healing power. I interpret the above mentioned line from the Bible and the topic of John the Baptist in this installation in a slightly different way. I suppose that the Bible talks about an inevitable shift in the old/ usual though or the state of consciousness. The consciousness should grow, whereas the voice of reason never ceasing talking, conflict-ridden and creating for us so many unnecessary problems should decrease. We find many such hints in the teachings of Jesus Christ (also in Buddhism, Sufism, etc.).
