Artist Statement

"...analysis is not the only way to resolve inner conflicts. Life itself still remains a therapist" 
            - Karen Horney

"Each morning when I awake, I experience again a supreme pleasure - that of being Salvador Dali"
            - Salvador Dali


My practice throughout 4th Year has been an investigation into the psychologies of the narcissistic character through the medium of paint, in reference to Hotchkiss' Seven Deadly Sins of Narcissism which include shamelessness, envy and magical thinking. I dealt with the ideas of reality and actuality; exploring descriptive and fragmented imagery and placing importance on the application of the materials used in the construction of a painting.

The term narcissism was established by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud after Narcissus, who in Greek mythology was a pathologically self-absorbed young man who fell in love with his own reflection in a pool. The German-American psychoanalyst Karen Horney saw narcissism quite differently from Freud, Kohut and other mainstream psychoanalytic theorists in that she did not suggest a primary narcissism but saw the narcissistic personality as the product of a certain kind of early environment acting on a certain kind of temperament. For her, narcissistic needs and tendencies are not inherent in human nature. Narcissism is different from Horney's other major defensive strategies or solutions in that it is not compensatory, Self-idealisation is compensatory in her theory , but it differs from narcissism. All the defensive strategies involve self-idealisation, but in the narcissistic solution it tends to be the product of indulgence rather than of deprivation. The narcissist's self-esteem is not strong, however, because it is not based on genuine accomplishments.

When examining narcissistic tendencies, a thin line between shame and shamelessness is evident. We can see this in the argument for 'healthy narcissism', whereby it is discussed that the feeling of greatness is related to healthy narcissism, but which is also often used to compensate for insecurity. This factor created an interest in contrast and complexity in my photographic research and in the physicality of materials. For me, it is important that there is a stimulating aesthetic way of reading the subject and concepts of my practice. My intention is to always try to visually render the emotion of the figures and environment in my work. Concepts of comparison and differentiation stream through my pieces.

Themes:

Shame and shamelessness

The absurd and the delusional

The ridiculous made normal/ the normal made ridiculous 

Weakness and strength 

Ego, esteem, pride - - façade, fragility, envy

With these concepts in mind, I sought out images of people which I could alter and manipulate (by means of Photoshop/ black graphic pen, etc) in order to apply these ideas of fragmentation and emotion distortion, with intention to make quite gestural work. Initially, I started with the literal idea of people falling, in crutches, etc and explored the application of paint in the construction of a painting; examining how the used of contrast could create the unstable fragile element I was trying to push forward. For example, putting blocks of colour with swirling paint application; large minimalist areas of paint beside layered and built-up areas of detail, by means of the use of turpentine, linseed oil and paste and often putting the oil paint on directly. 

Literature and theory has been influential to my work, particularly Shakespeare's tragedy King Lear and Oscar Wilde's The Portrait of Dorian Gray. In King Lear, we witness the period of catharsis of a foolish old king, blinded by his own self-importance and egotism; and in the Portrait of Dorian Gray, we see the disturbing consequences of a young man plagued by vanity. Oscar Wilde, himself, was quite a flamboyant character and his own writings have been sources of research  for me.

" I have nothing to declare but my genius " - Oscar Wilde

Inspired by ideas of the Facebook generation and the arena Facebook provides for self-glorification, almost like a "public mental asylum"; in the early stages of semester two, I began to focus more on how I could take photographs of the 'ordinary' person and apply the excess and ridiculousness attached with appearance, clothes, costume, social standing etc, of the poseur. An overtly exaggerative styling of painting became important in my work, building up the figure with different layers of paint, once again aiming to render the fragmentation and fragility in both an aesthetic and psychological manner. Combining the ideas of the 'Badge of Shame' and the 'Wall of Fame', I created my own Wall of shFame.

Thesis:   The Artistic and Agonistic Engagement of the Public Space