Suspended

2018
wood, enamel paint, iron, rope
180x120x250cm

An unpleasant consequence of the way our present society works is that it forces its members into a certain existential dependency. We receive subsistence and the means to meet our needs in the form of income, but we are paid mostly for the work we do to meet the functions of society. The tension between one’s basic interest and inclination and the need for self-preservation is even more acute when one chooses a career in the arts. Before I graduated, I was terrified that I would not be able to find a job at all and would not be able to support myself, or that if I did, I would be completely absorbed by the system and would have no time or energy left for visual art. The fear of this profound lethargy, which has gripped many of my graduate friends, was almost as overwhelming as the actual situation itself. The condition, which I have privately referred to as ‘post-graduation depression’, was thus preceded by a ‘gate-opening panic’. In fact, the destabilisation of the social institutions means that even as a university student, a student can face a number of problems in his or her life. And there are no certain patterns of life as a visual artist that can serve as a reference point. Everyone has to find an individual version to ensure his or her survival as a subject and as a creator. Artists use a kind of pull-it-and-let-it-go method to balance between being a social and an artist. In my exhibited work I try to symbolically represent this situation. The colourful children’s toy is a symbol of art, with which the artist can come into contact through activity. However, the swing hangs at too many points, its rope chains intertwined, preventing play. There is a sense that the only way to get moving is to free oneself from some of the strands, to untangle oneself. However, it does matter which anchors are removed, because if you make the wrong choice, you could fall to the ground, which is also the end of the game. And even if we manage to get off with the right compromises, we can’t be sure that the frame is strong enough to support our weight.