Kea Sontowski
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Decompose
Decompose
Medium: Digital collage of found images, created using photopea and the posterise filter
Size: Size variable 42.0 x 59.4 cm in exhibition
Inspired by Gustav Klimt’s “Death and Life”, this work reflects the duality between life and death. I fragmented my collage and unified the pictures to form a new piece which presents death and life as a complete whole. I used the iconography of flowers and skulls to portray death, life, and birth. The spiderweb weaves the links between life and death, interconnecting the two.
Scrapyard
Scrapyard
Medium: Paint on canvas
Size: 50 x 40 cm
Inspired by the covid epidemic, where deaths are counted to be used as a comparison, the piece aims to convey the need to have more sympathy for the dead, especially in an age where technology has desensitized us. The use of a sharp red color against the black was designed in order to generate a feeling of violence and anger. This contrasts with the focal point in the center – this being the stack of urns – which are being swallowed up by the red.
Minotaur’s grief
Minotaur’s grief
Medium: Clay with fabric found at home, sellotape, moss, wire
Size: 20 x 30 x 30 cm
Inspired by personal experiences, the aim of this piece is to convey feelings of self-deprecation after experiencing loss. The minotaur head represents inner shame and conveys a feeling of self-loathing brought on by the missed opportunities and irreversible interactions that one might experience with a person who has died. In Greek mythology, the minotaur resembles the dark side of humans which we are keen to lock away and ignore.
Continuum
Continuum
Medium: Window paint on plastic sheet stuck on glass, LED lights
Size: 60 x 40 cm
This vanitas inspired piece aims to represent mortality and the cycle of life by implementing objects pertaining to both life and death. The use of window paint on glass was done in order to achieve a stained glass look inspired by the stained glass windows in churches which are used to tell religious stories. This artwork hopes to do the same by communicating ideas of mortality and the continuous circle of life through the artwork.
Curatorial Rationale
Curatorial Rationale
The overall theme of my exhibition revolves around grief, inspired by my own experiences revolving around loss. The artworks shown deal with mortality, and at the same time, question the concept of life and death.
The artworks all have different mediums which portray the varying experiences brought on by the exploration of grief, represented through different mediums. I used materials that shift from 2D to 3D to show the spread of knowledge gained throughout. Furthermore, the pieces utilize similar iconologies – like the skull.
As you look upon the artworks, you can see the artworks being arranged in a square shape so the eye is not directly focused on one artwork but rather the artworks as a whole. In addition, the pieces were divided with the larger ones being on the bottom left and top right to create harmony and balance. I sub-categorised the artworks by creating a vertical division between light and dark - the right side being the light and the left side being the dark. This further enhances the duality between life versus death which hopes to have the viewer question the reason for the duality. In addition, the artwork is placed in a rather dark part of the room so that the shine of artwork three “Continuum”, once illuminated, is more prevalent. The artworks were placed at eye-level so the viewer can see the artworks head-on.
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