Vespertine (Ode to the Present)
2022
Although continuing the thematic and visual narratives of Vespertine (Ode to Twilight) (2021), these works, exclusively on brass, evoke an imagined panorama of the distant future (instead of the past); be it of an open lunar surface or a Martian topography (pivoting away from prior portrayals of cave motifs). Here, the visual language allows the viewer to interpret this ‘mise-en-scène’ with its allusion to a systemic reality void of humankind and sentient beings. These studies of barren landscapes have thus been created to survey - and to examine - ontological theorems of existence.
Digitally-drawn illustrations combined with photographic imagery accede to the creation of one definitive image, which is subsequently printed on brass plates. Analogous to photomontage, this process leads to the digital creation of new ornamentations and variables that lead to a final composition. This approach is then finished by hand-drawn motifs in wax pastels to further illustrate a dimensionally atmospheric realm with elements of other-worldly characterisations.
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As a side note: A discipline of philosophy, ontology examines concepts such as existence, being, becoming, and reality. It is sometimes referred to as the science of being and belongs to the notable branch of philosophy known as metaphysics. Ontologists often try to determine what the categories or highest kinds are and how they form a system of categories that provides an encompassing classification of all entities.