Effigies have been a standard format for picturing personalities in a solemn way. They look timeless and inprint on the viewer an idea of nobility that outlive their subjects. But identities are formed by a constellation of attributes and such a reductive form of portrait - when carried out of its context - may reveal itself flawed, incomplete, unrealistic.
In "Recovered" (2018), the artist vandalizes his own image - sculpted as an effigy - in a process that reveals at the same time it hides. The use of a fragile material, mixed painting techniques and inclusion of timely elements in the bas-reliefs deprives the effigy of a classic aspect, and the emotional implications of working with his own image creates a completely opposite friction. How to separate selfdeprecation from honesty? How to distinguish intention from compulsion, desire from addiction? The result is a set of memories of a fraction of a character. Not intended for eternity, but at least for a brief display and appreciation.
“Memories are not always pleasant and people are not only good. Either ugliness or beauty transcend the intentions of a portrait, and sometimes even hidden in layers of visual information or flesh you will find both. ”
