ARTiculAction
Amanda Mendiant
Ta hand om dig Syster I
Ta hand om dig Syster II
close up. 130 cm x 140 cm. Acrylic on canvas. 2013.
close up. 130 cm x 140 cm. Acrylic on canvas. 2013.
me is the way it effectively challenges the dichotomy between the perception of the real and the onirical dimension... it has suggested me the concept that some informations & ideas are hidden, or even "encrypted", so we need -in a way- to decipher them. Maybe that one of the roles of an artist could be to reveal unexpected sides of Nature, especially of our inner Nature... what's your point about this?
The idea of that particular painting came to me in a period of dried out inspiration and a trip to Stockholm. I had a show coming up and two empty places for a couple of paintings. I strolled around and saw this hand written note in a storefront that said: ”Ta hand om dig syster” which means ”Take care of yourself sister” in swedish. Aiming directly at me! And I loved the thought of all the other women passing by and accidentally seeing that note. Comforting and summoning to look out for yourself and each other. Later on the same day I stumbled over an exhibition of a finish painter from the late 19th century I had never heard of. Helene Schjerfbeck that totally blew me away with her modernity and presence on small sized canvases. The woman had her break through at age 80 and I liked being reminded that you can grow old and wise in this profession… As opposed to the cult of youth today. So these two events led me to want to visually remind the ladies out there, inspired by
As I said earlier I believe Art should definitely awake emotions or thoughts. I always put my own reflexions in my work and have convictions I am faithful to. But I am also quite restrictive about telling too much about it (the simple titles of the paintings for instance) as I find interesting to let the viewer make her/his own interpretation of the work and make an impact through THEIR own referenses rather than dictating what I want. People should be able to make it highly personal. So yes, there is many layers to it…