A Mark (Self-Portrait), 2017
Archival Inkjet print with Arcylic facemouth on Dibond
101.6 x 127 cm
The work explores the expansion of photographic narrative through the combined use of photography, art object and performance.
The displayed photograph is a long-exposed record of a performative act carried out by the artist. The artist put on black paint on the wall while wearing black clothes.Through long exposing the action with photography, the action of the artist was captured and simultaneously blended with the traces he left on the wall (the black paint). The infusion of the action and the related traces resulted in one unified mark on the wall, drawing an analogy to our state of being; in which our existence is the a combined state of our action and the subsequent traces.
Beyond the photographic image, the display of the brush expanded the narrative by providing an indexical embodiment of what had happened in the performance, showing remnants of the past - the black paint that’s now dried. With the brush being framed, it resembles the idea of a relic, tackling the notion of the past and the idea of a historical material. Despite the photographic image being abstract and obscure, the brush shows a light trail of what had happened and imposes the presence of the person who once used the tool.
Overall, the work tackles the state of being and the subsequent record and traces of our presence.
The displayed photograph is a long-exposed record of a performative act carried out by the artist. The artist put on black paint on the wall while wearing black clothes.Through long exposing the action with photography, the action of the artist was captured and simultaneously blended with the traces he left on the wall (the black paint). The infusion of the action and the related traces resulted in one unified mark on the wall, drawing an analogy to our state of being; in which our existence is the a combined state of our action and the subsequent traces.
Beyond the photographic image, the display of the brush expanded the narrative by providing an indexical embodiment of what had happened in the performance, showing remnants of the past - the black paint that’s now dried. With the brush being framed, it resembles the idea of a relic, tackling the notion of the past and the idea of a historical material. Despite the photographic image being abstract and obscure, the brush shows a light trail of what had happened and imposes the presence of the person who once used the tool.
Overall, the work tackles the state of being and the subsequent record and traces of our presence.
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