Augmentation I
Oil · 2019 1,854 views
Made by a human
Corné Eksteen certifies having made this artwork by hand, with no AI-generated imagery.
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One of the primary incentives for me as an artist to create is an urgency to comprehend and come to terms with the here and now. It is with that motivation in mind that I often find myself searching the current cultural and artistic zeitgeist to take a position, reflect on or reinterpret an aspect within these universally held beliefs that resonates with me and sparks a visual expression of a particular "trending" social norm. The body of work that represents the "passage" series has its conceptual roots in popularised notions and propositions relating to travel. Photographs of unknown places stream through our devices into our consciousness on an everyday basis, pinned to our memories with enticing quotes about travel and the value and shifts in perception of the world and our place in it, that travelling can yield. More than often the destination is the focus and the journey between point A and B only suggested. It is within that context where the most important aspect of travelling is downplayed in tandem with other universally held or popular ideas, like "life is a journey, not a destination" that these works had their conceptual beginnings. "Passage" - the action or process of moving through or past somewhere on the way from one place to another. As the word passage suggests, these works focus on the transit between point A and B, but more specifically the universal human experience or journey between birth and death. With portraiture as the foundation of my visual vocabulary, these works are visualisations of universal experiences relating to trauma, rites of passage, coming of age, the aging process and personal transformations - which all play a part in creating the greatest journey of all - life.
Eksteen (b. 1973, South Africa) is a figurative painter, renowned for his large scale confrontational portraits. His work relies on both figurative and abstract painting traditions in the creation of pieces that not only represent the physical appearance of his sitters, but also reflects on and explores their inner life and state of mind. Eksteen refers to the creation of these portraits as a quest for new archetypes. Works are created through a process that include several sessions with a sitter, followed by digital manipulation of reference materials before the actual painting is started. Paintings are created using several often experimental techniques and relies on finding a balance between the transparent and opaque, dark and light, the controlled and the expressive. The completed images are seemingly simplistic, but confronts on many levels with it’s raw emotional complexity.
Belinda Joanne
