Ex Materia
2021 - 2023
Inspired by proto-theology as well as primitive mythology, this series forms a dynamic visual chronicle that illustrates topographical motifs, which draws upon the idea of beauty in symmetry (as prevalent in nature). The works are organised in a play of mirrored compositional constructs, forming kaleidoscopic patterns and uniform systems of reference.
The colours are heterogeneous, patterns of movement are ubiquitous with irregular shaped swathes of colour dominating each work’s surface; and as light penetrates between the creases of the fabric, shadows are cast becoming sculptural in form. Consequentially, this body of work can be qualified as mystical, primal, terrene; forming a brutally instinctive expression of elaborate compositions, which plays on the graphic universe.
Utilising image-editing software, a preparatory template is first drafted - enabling the creation of a digital image - which is then printed monochromatically onto recycled polypropylene and polyester mix textile or wool. The process is then completed by hand-drawn inclusions in oil and wax pastels as well as aquarelle onto the surface of the fabric. This original template can be redefined and reproduced into multiple variations, creating mirror-like vestiges that resemble the inkblot Rorschach tests, and thus perpetuating with each new permutation the theory of ex materia.
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As a side note: Continuing the narrative of Ex Nihilo (Ode to the Garden of Earthly Delights) (2020) this series Ex Materia, however, draws on the theory that matter (and its constituent parts) is eternal in some form. Formulating instead the notion that the universe has always existed in some manner, to the extent that the universe was actually created (or ‘formed’) out of preexisting materials.
The ancient Greek and dualistic philosopher Plato (427–347 BC) proposed that a divine craftsman (the Demiurge) shaped an orderly cosmos into existence out of disorderly matter. This divine builder formed matter but did not originate it because matter is eternal. Thus, the divine craftsman simply gave shape to the eternal substance of the universe.