ENTER THE VOID

 

Absorption by darkness, a hint of death and a perpetual hope in the form of a live line – that was the source of inspiration to create the basic construction pillar – the painting “Enter the Void”. It reflects the artist’s experience related to the departure of her loved ones from this world. A very similar aim is present in the widely know piece of art “Die Toteninsel” by Arnold Böcklin, expressing strong existential pathos and coming to terms with a loss. “Enter the Void” is a reflection on what void is and what can be found behind it. I express the void using black color as a qualified no color. The painting processes the outline and the central motive of trees from the artwork “Die Toteninsel” mentioned above. It is rendered in painting on a monumental scale canvas. The grandness of the black painting places the viewer face to face with the darkness and it draws them inside. The black as a no color, as void. The darkness of the painting is imposed by thecontrasting white polystyrene frame put aside, with the vertical lines of the fluorescent tune indicating a third dimension behind the picture in a Fontanian way. The artworks Enter the Void hide a magic method of the artist’s black color, Cypress Black, made with the method of burning. The cypress trees are first incinerated to obtain coal, and then pulverized to obtain pigment. Then the black pigment is blended with concentrated binding agent to achieve gloss or mat in the painting as needed. The depicted object is painted with its own ashes. It gains authentic grandness with the angle of daylight incidence on the canvas. The real tree becomes a mere portrayed memory, an imprint of reality. The work with the material and its durability is an essential part of the artist’s work.