Special Issue 24113 I belong to The Young African Leaders Initiative Network (YALI Network). It started out as a part of President Obama's signature effort to invest in the next generation of African entrepreneurs, educators, activists, and innovators. I actively connect with other artists in Africa and also with students. I have managed to have some great success in providing students with some information and coaching, leading to free educational avenues in other countries. I have also been ART Habens Sharmaine Thérèsa Pretorius
24121 Special Issue working on an exhibition about Africa for a long time. As I grow artistically, it grows. The body of works that we have selected for this special edition of ART Habens are marked out with such unique visual identity that reflects the personal technique that you have developed over the years. What has at once captured our attention of your approach is the way you use visual language in a strategic way to offering an array of meanings to the Sharmaine Thérèsa Pretorius ART Habens
Special Issue 2413 viewers, highlighting the elusive connection between reality and the dreamlike, almost spiritual realm: when walking our readers through your usual setup and process, we would like to ask you if you create your works gesturally, instinctively. In particular, how do you consider the role of chance and improvisation playing within your creative process? I usually dream a fixed blueprint of a picture of some sorts. I try to draw as fast as possible afterwards, so as not to go into visual, sensory overload. I copy my dreams and sometimes it can take me up too, two years to download a picture from a dream - in order to remember the details when I am awake. They contain music notes, maths, physics, etc. After I have made colored drawings of them, I photograph them and put them through kaleidoscopic computer software. Over time, groups and topics do show up quite clearly. All my work is based upon the concept of the work ‘The Rose - Zero-Knowledge Protocol (5523)’ which featured in my first solo exhibition ‘Enclosure Fathom - Part 1 (2018)’. In cryptography, a zero-knowledge proof or zeroknowledge protocol is a method by which one party (the prover) can prove to another party (the verifier) that a given statement is true, without conveying any information apart from the fact that the statement is indeed true. The essence of zero-knowledge proofs is that it is trivial to prove that one possesses knowledge of certain information by simply revealing it; the challenge is to prove such possession without revealing the information itself or any additional information. So when I download a picture from my dreams, I am just the messenger, the conduit, and in that respect surely, yes, it can be said that I do it gesturally, instinctively. I have come to sincerely believe throughout my life’s experiences that such a thing as chance does not exist, even if it is attractive for us to believe so. I have always had the belief that the part of the process that I do have a lot of control over is the chance to improve my skill -sets. I am always learning new techniques, how to store things better etc. but am also doing lots of research, about what it is that I saw in my dreams - the broader significance of it perhaps. ART Habens Sharmaine Thérèsa Pretorius
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24161 Special Issue It has amazed me over and over to see many artists online, having their own interpretation of what I have seen in my dreams, drawn or sculptured. I decode that as a definite sign that some form of intelligence wishes to engage with people, and I refuse to believe that it can only be bad, of what is shown is bad or sinful. Biblical Daniel and others were also dependent on interpretations as well as kings and the rest of humanity as to what their dreams had meant. It just signals that we are out of touch with whatever heavenly language or books there are that we are supposed to read or interpret visually, but just do not have the software for. The question should rather be, who uninstalled it (pun intended). I am always trying to learn more about symbols and languages in order to improve my own understanding and interpretation of the work. I went for a visit to a museum in Oman. There the inexplicable happened. Time just stood still. I discovered some metal etched tea trays and other engraved and woven items, which registered overly familiar with me. It is a chance discovery which came right at the precise time that I was working on the concept of time; being turned back? We definitely love your unique choice of tones, and we have been particularly impressed with the sense of movement that marks out your artworks and we really appreciated the way your artworks create such enigmatic patterns, communicating an alternation between tension and release. How does your own psychological make-up determine the nuances of tones that you decide to include moment by moment in your artworks? Usually after I have had a dream, when I wish to repeat the memory, I hear the pictures before I see them, then I smell them. I hear them in a continuous time loop. I love music. I see numbers in the air and music simultaneously and shapes. They are tense, intense moments. What I draw is just a postage stamp size almost of the blueprint of what I have seen and dreamed about. I love trying to copy the sense of movement without losing content or context. I can never relax, unless I have copied the sound into the picture. That is a personal point, of great release. I am totally unafraid of failure and never throw work away. As soon as I have copied the musical grid into the work, my intellectual quest starts; to really encode it Sharmaine Thérèsa Pretorius ART Habens
Special Issue 24173 correctly. I can’t wait to wake up every morning. Nothing else matters while I am drawing. I am a total adrenaline junky once I start. I multi - task and go on a complete roll while I am doing it. All other tasks become easy…until…. here is an example …In our house the rules are - no mobile phones at meals or in bathrooms, ever. So one day, I realized that I am getting too busy with work and would soon forget the music that I have heard going with the picture in my dream the night before. So I realized I had to brush my ART Habens Sharmaine Thérèsa Pretorius
24181 Special Issue teeth and needed to check a picture on my phone for somebody and ..then my full bladder announced itself. I quickly grabbed my toothbrush and started running to the bathroom, phone in one hand and closed my eyes for a moment thinking …I am so glad nobody could see what I was doing and..pulled down my undies at the same time with that hand and gave my front teeth; a good swipe…sat down and was out of there in 60 seconds flat. Sharmaine Thérèsa Pretorius ART Habens
Special Issue 2413 I was happily choosing colors and dancing to the music in my mind…but about an hour later I could not sit down because my private parts were complaining!!!…..oh dear, so while I closed my eyes and was so thankful for nobody witnessing me having broken my own rules ….I had dropped some watery, liquid toothpaste in my undies and let’s just say spearmint is not a good fit!!! So the music downloaded is fairly static, but I add the Rumbo! (tongue in cheek) Unfortunately I have too many examples like those. They usually entail, wearing my skirt or top, upside down or inside out to class. I once put rice inside a pot and put water in, directly on the element, without putting the glass pot holder in first. I am not usually absent minded, but can get very preoccupied when I am in the zone. Drawing from the dreamlike dimension, your artworks unveil the bridge between reality and inner worlds, that you sapiently disclose by creating inter-zones of sensory perceptions, that invite the viewers to recognize elements from reality: how do you consider the relationship between reality and imagination, playing within your artistic production? In particular, how does everyday life's experience fuel your creative process? It is very kind of you to use the term ‘’sapiently’’. If I do manage to create interzones of sensoric perceptions for ART Habens Sharmaine Thérèsa Pretorius
24221 Special Issue art viewers I am overjoyed. One well - known art collector Alain Servais from Belgium has said publicly, and some other collectors have reiterated to me, for at least two years how important it is to them to understand the work of artists and how unsatisfied they are with mainstream contemporary art expression in general. There is a definite art to bridging the gap, of what artists hope others would experience when they see their art and what is usually perceived. I have tried to listen to what I hear from collectors. One collector sent me a picture of a work by Joan Miro and we found a hidden, subliminal image in it together and it led to us exploring some of his other works in unison. The hunger to learn, explore and grow is a very set reality in many high - end art collectors’ lives. They have laddered the proverbial Abraham Maslow’s theory about the hierarchy of needs and are in the process of self - actualization in their own lives, seeking fulfillment and change through personal growth. It is a very individual journey, each according to his or her own set path. I use stories to accommodate their process, using it to connect reality and imagination. It is very enriching as a process artist to see people exploring their own consciousness and make connections between proverbial worlds and their own growth. I am fearless of stepping into my own imagination. Nido Qubein is one of my favorite people, he coins it best ‘’most of us miss our best opportunities in life because they come to us disguised as work.’’ If you can dream it you can do it. In quantum physics we learn that yesterday, today and tomorrow all grow on the same tree simultaneously. Sometimes we all need quantum entanglement to knock on our doors to shake us all out of the reverie of mere simplicity. Sensory overload of the machine age holds most people hostage to one finger signals - we need - the shake. In my everyday life I try to act mindful and pay close attention to small things. They usually signal much bigger things. To tap into the subconscious and what it knows takes time. I love the quiet in the desert and think we should all slowdown. I think the artworks I have created, may be fueled by the imagination needed to create but contains information very real. As you have remarked in your artist's statement, you see yourself as an interpreter, an observer of what 'simply is', seeing your work as a puzzle, a map and a musical composition. Your unique technique allows you to create new kind of hybrid languages that expand and even transcends the nature of human perception, and more specifically we definitely love the way your artworks almost urge he viewers to elaborate such a wide number of interpretations French Impressionist painter Edgar Degas once remarked that Art is not what you see, but what you make others see : how would you consider the degree of openness of the messages that you convey in your creations and how open would you like your works to be understood? Are you particularly interested in arousing emotions that goes beyond the realm of visual perception? The Arabian people have a saying; “What’s meant for you will reach you even if it’s beneath two mountains, and what’s not meant for you won’t reach you even if it’s Sharmaine Thérèsa Pretorius ART Habens
Special Issue between your two lips.” Having found facts and figures in my own work, that I have not even known were contained within, just like most artists, I have come to the conclusion if the art crosses your path it is there, for a reason and you need to find out why it let itself be found, by you? My perception as well as understanding is that even if I wrote notes explaining 50 % of the work, there would still remain another 50 % unknown and that one day artificial intelligence will probably be able to help discover and unravel more of the narratives embedded within… There is a definite - Origen like theme more often than not and reflects more systematically on the theme of discernment. Origen viewed it as an operation of the higher part of the soul (νους), whereby the soul opens itself to its spirit. In that regard, I would definitely encourage going below merely the surface of the work. It bears repeating that; ‘The Rose - Zero-Knowledge Protocol (5523)’ which featured in my first solo exhibition ‘Enclosure Fathom - Part 1 (2018)’ a dreamlike book, I open in my dreams, is the basis of all my work. In particular also what the definition in cryptography is of, a zero-knowledge proof or zero-knowledge protocol. The work is aimed at seekers and seers who really wish to find something to explore on a different level. It would not necessarily satisfy the investor who just wishes to invest in art as a monetary transaction. Emotions can change very easily… but I am always excited if something about my artwork creates that initial emotional, spark of interest, to viewers wanting to go deeper. It does not have to include a friendship or relationship with me as the artist. A viewer of one of my works recently burst into tears after seeing it exhibited overseas. He really felt it was created just for him and stayed, all day, looking at it. I cannot take credit for that. I am just a messenger of sorts. It's important to mention that you love photographing your artworks and then using kaleidoscopic computer software to create new digital editions of them: how do you consider the role of technology playing within the ramifications of your artistic process? In the beginning I did it, because I felt totally incapable of drawing the multiple dimensions etc. that I had dreamed of. Even my current art, is very low class 2d in comparison to what the real topics of my dreams are like. As soon as I used the kaleidoscopic software, it dawned on me, that the pictures had multiple other identities I did not even know about. 234 ART Habens Sharmaine Thérèsa Pretorius
24241 Special Issue I turned a picture one day and ended up absolutely stoked. I ran up and down the room like a mad woman. One of my pictures showed at the exact 5th turn of the kaleidoscope a heraldic picture of the family emblem of a well-known family in Europe. I was ecstatic. I then realized in my lifetime; not me or the next person is going to be able to just lightly decode the work. I also realized, that at least some people deeply invested in spirituality ages ago, must also have tapped into the Sharmaine Thérèsa Pretorius ART Habens
same realm - in order to have copied that. It wasn’t some simple, random design either. I then looked back deeper into my family’s roots in old Venice etc. My whole life changed shortly afterwards (2008). I went to Japan to attend a conference and also to see the work of Dr. Masaru Emoto. His water crystal experiments consisted of exposing water in glasses to various words, pictures, or music, ART Habens Sharmaine Thérèsa Pretorius Special Issue 2453
24261 Special Issue then freezing it and examining the ice crystals'•aesthetic•properties with microscopic photography. I realized what I was drawing were my dreams and the crystal patterns of people’s thoughts, etc. That too qualifies as a definite Eureka moment. At the same time I was working on a project studying the book ‘’Networked intelligence - nature goes online by Grazyna Fosar and Franz Bludorf.’’ at a think tank/ training class at a local hospital in South Korea. The main theses of the book are: All living beings in the cosmos are connected to one another via newly discovered hyper-communication and form a network of consciousness. The genetic material, the DNA, which is actually an antenna, acts as a transmitter and receiver system. Gravitation and gravity anomalies influence our consciousness and events of world events. The book explores a Cosmic Internet of Consciousness. I realized my own art work was really so alive. Not at all, only what people may perceive as a couple of blocks drawn, attached to, dry philosophical theories mixed with pseudo spirituality. It came slow. I had a lot of opposition from family and friends about the source of my drawings, at the time. Some works, as the interesting The Pearl of Nizwa feature such unique elaborate patterns that remind medioriental style: in this sense, we dare say that 1your artistic research establishes a bridge between tradition and contemporary sensitiveness: how do you consider the relationship between Tradition and Contemporariness playing within your work as an artist? “William Morris was a British textile designer, poet, artist,novelist, printer, translator and socialist activist. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditional British textile arts and methods of production.’’ When I was 11/12 my parents bought a house. My mom got huge catalogs with endless samples of materials and wallpapers featuring William Morris’ designs. My one grandmother had oriental pots and exquisite figurines of Japanese children and a prototype Japanese handheld vacuum cleaner machine, all given to her by overseas guests. I was taught to appreciate beauty from different cultures. Both sets of grandparents had their glass showcases with sculptures and favored items. My parents also insisted that we do some house chores. We daily set the place mats for every- day- use featuring The Great Wave off Kanagawa (1831) by artist Katsushika Hokusai and some with beautiful Paris café motifs and with a jam-pot with African animals growling Sharmaine Thérèsa Pretorius ART Habens
ART Habens Sharmaine Thérèsa Pretorius Special Issue 2473 at prey overlooked around the corner from a painting by an African artist of a bleak moonscape. My own contemporary sensitiveness starts with the simple request of people; to stop trying to own or be God/s. At the same time it is very important to value and respect the traditions of other cultures. I feel completely free in expressing what I find beautiful in different societies. In the work ‘Pearl of Nizwa’ I have tried to translate the beauty of what the city represents to me individually. The mosque part of the drawing would not transfer to glass if kept white, so I inverted the picture and added the blue color. The picture transferred to glass in Armenia is absolutely breathtaking in my own opinion. It topped any and all of my expectations. Nobody seeing it, could possibly defend thoughts that it is meant to offend. It carries a distinct Inca Sacsayhuaman/ Zulu pattern inflection with a definite oriental touch, exposing my inter - cultural background. A contemporary touch on age old, beautiful tradition. Your works could be considered your holographic memories copied from your vivid dreams: we would like to ask you how does your everyday life in Oman and your memories influence and fuel your creative process. Epistemology, is the philosophical study of the nature, origin, and limits of human knowledge, according to the encyclopedia Britannica. The term is derived from the Greek epistēmē (“knowledge”) and logos (“reason”), and accordingly the field is sometimes referred to as the theory of knowledge. Along with metaphysics, logic, and ethics, it is one of the four main branches of philosophy. That, and the spiritual intentions and intuitions, exhibited in the holographic memories, dreams and behaviors of 'the individual and group' and myself, be it in dreams or reality collectively form the fabric of my proverbial art canvas. I aim to continually perpetuate self awareness as far away from the ego sceptre of the selfie stick as possible, with my art. Social media one liner tech mentality is robbing every poet and artist as we speak. People are starting to fail, to fathom, perceive or grasp implied knowledge on a very basic level. In five years from now, we may live an abbreviated existence concreted in the 'concrete'. In my every day life I make extensive use of the internet both for coms as well as for my research. The sobering part of it is that I do not have the luxury of seeing the body language of others which makes out 75% of language when people communicate according to experts. I have been in a virtual art race with some collectors regarding my ‘Enclosure Part 2’ exhibition which would also lead to a video series later. What started out as one thing has morphed into something else altogether. I see and experience the world through their eyes here in the middle of the desert. Sometimes I have to take time out to handle a crises or ongoing problem and work. I dare say the relationships carried me through dark periods during the Covid - 19 saga. In the art world it is not necessarily what is presented, present, or on show... which fascinates me, but rather what is implied? What was created by the artists themselves, they did not even realize, at the time of creation. Here in Oman nature forces the opposite. If you do not have shelter or water nobody needs to explain anything to you. Here living an orderly, practical life can mean the difference between bad/ death or life in the real sense of the words. I am a planner. Life here forces anyone to plan. I find people very caring and their hospitality and depth exceedingly charming. We are treated as part of their extended families with a great deal of care and grace. My belief that there are great people in the world got strengthened here a lot. I have walked through the oasis, in a movie like setting, with family members, celebrated a wedding and birthdays here, got parents to visit us and had one son here with us, during a prolonged sickbed. It is here that I had my first solo art exhibition driven via Omani sponsorship. My heart is full of riches. Wherever I am and whatever I create will always carry these influences, the subtle fragrances of frankincense and dates and Omani coffee and friendship. My first exhibition led to a picnic in the oasis here as well, where my guests could experience a small taste of my everyday life. Most of your works are of A4 size, however, you also work with large canvass that provide the viewers with such immersive visual experience: how do the dimensions of your canvass affect your workflow? I have always created on smaller paper/ canvas due to us being migrants for the immediate present. Custom services do not acknowledge my drawings or artwork as just personal creations, anymore, but as a brand and a product. I therefore am responsible for all fees and
Sharmaine Thérèsa Pretorius ART Habens 24301 Special Issue insurance if it needs to be moved. I have 40 collections on inventory, which does pose a distinct issue, but if they were all meters wide, it would have been a much bigger and costlier problem. I tend to exhibit in countries outside of my usual residency only in digital form as to cut costs and simplify logistics. I have balanced self control whilst working on A4 size work, but as soon as there is a bigger canvas or wall, I go nuts. It is like when you show me a packet of chocolates or chips versus a box of drawing pens - the pens will always win. Once we have settled permanently like it is our current plan to do - I would wait awhile before buying any huge canvasses, as my husband and family may not see me at all. That is what could really tempt me, not to show up anywhere for some weeks!! You are an established artist: you gained international recognition as an emerging artist in 2017 and you rank has improved over the last two years. Over the years you have the chance to exhibit your artworks internationally: how do you consider the nature of your relationship with your audience I gladly share the artworks my limited moments of epiphany and measure of vision contain.•I am thankful that I have an audience anywhere. I am in the position that I have known especially Asian art collectors for many years and they have known my work for a long time as well, long before international recognition followed. The items created were personally commissioned. They know about my existence purely by word of mouth. On paper it certainly may seem as if I have managed to jump head first into a high - end art market position, which is simply not true. There are investors who merely wish to buy my work on the primary market or the whole inventory, hold onto it for a couple of years and hope to sell it on the secondary market for a hopeful bigger payoff. There is no sin in making investments in such a way, but those buyers are not my preference. I do not sell my art except by invitation. I see it as a privilege to be able to create art and am very interested in exchanging holographic memories with collectors. I am always available to art collectors who wish to give the first step, by connecting to me on Instagram. It is a very personal choice. If my work ends up in someone’s house, it immediately has an effect on the Cosmic Internet Chain spiritually - the reverberating fork - in action. If someone has a physical work of art of mine, it definitely effects me as well. My website and Instagram is where I try to connect with people who are interested in the deeper meaning of the art and with a broader audience. My Instagram is my lifeline on DM to ‘’the audience’’ in real time. Most of ‘’the audience’’ do not collect art or care to invest in art. They just enjoy reading about the experiences of others and or take an interest in my life and environment and travels. I enjoy connecting with all of them either way. The relationships can lead to a lot of joking and creating of new art, supposed to tease the other party, back and forth. I enjoy it immensely, and love a good joke. Some specific art collectors have had an amazing influence on my life. I have learned more from them about art and the art world, and history than, if I had done a degree in art. Two main art critics have also enriched my life in many ways, especially one. I regularly go along for the ride, seeing and experiencing life in the art world through his eyes. I think he is the richest man on earth, having seen and experienced so many exhibitions in his lifetime. I enjoy fellow artists the most. I feel I have truly found my tribe. I am older than most of them, but in my heart I am always 17, so it does not matter to me in the slightest. One collector did let me know he wishes to buy our blue car, which will soon be put on auction - as an art object - for a specific purpose: he wishes to buy the car and put some selected works of one of my collections in it and send it to the moon, with an umbrella in the car, after having painted the car full of white daisies. It all reverts back to the strange story on my website about a blue car and my real blue car in Oman. Read more about it below. https://artshowroom.org/2019/12/27/upcoming-auctionin-november-2021-the-blue-car-bespoke-service-to-artcollectors-by-invitation-only/ By the way, as the move of Art from traditional gallery spaces, to street and especially to online platforms — as Instagram and Vimeo — increases, how would in your opinion change the relationship with a globalized audience? It has definitely made art more accessible in general.
ART Habens Sharmaine Thérèsa Pretorius Special Issue 24313 There are more than enough art lovers to absorb all of the artists out there’s art, but it has also upped the ante for artists who want to sell, but are not on top of their game and opened the door to some bad predators, seeking artists ‘’to pay unfair amounts to play’’. In general it is the most active I have ever seen the market. It has certainly managed to give my art exposure which otherwise would have been impossible. Many art collectors lead extremely busy lives. Their lounge chair may be their only space/time to see or experience artists’ work online, so, show it, make it accessible. Please find examples of my art and stories and general exhibitions at my https://www.instagram.com/sharm.t.p Instagram handle. Just be mindful that you have to prove you are older than 25. We have really appreciated the multifaceted nature of your artistic research and before leaving this stimulating conversation we would like to thank you for chatting with us and for sharing your thoughts, Sharmaine Thérèsa. What projects are you currently working on, and what are some of the ideas that you hope to explore in the future? I have really enjoyed it, thank you ever so kindly and to your audience as well. I have recently finished a showing at a group online exhibition in Northern Ireland at Pepney Gallery called ‘’The Secret Garden’’ and I am having two exhibitions in short succession: my work the Zoetrope film titled: Oita Ikebana Sakura: The Precious Slipper•– An Ode to•Mizuki•(008172) set to the music of Duo4Musicians’ ‘’Heimwee’’ just completed its showing at ALCHEMIC BODY | FIRE . AIR . WATER . EARTH 2021 – LONDON CONTEMPORARY ART FAIR (The Line - ITSLIQUID) – during late November. My other work Ithaca – Frozen Race in An Iron Age – Zoetrope, New Media – Mixed Art, is on show at the 9th Edition – of CONTEMPORARY VENICE 2021. THE ROOM Contemporary Art Space and Misericordia Archives – until December 09, 2021. Find her website at: https://artshowroom.org/ Instagram: @sharm.t.p Twitter: @SHARMTP Press Interviews and Articles: https://artshowroom.org/2019/12/27/press-interviews/ Email: [email protected] Duo4Musicians: https://duo4music.com/ I am organizing the last admin for the auction of ‘’The Blue Car - Mostly Harmless - But Always Blessed’’, and its stories as well as a couple of cartoons my husband and I have created about a lady chasing Salvador Dali over a field of cauliflowers with an umbrella pointed at his backside and him chasing a rhino who wears a chastity belt. It is one of the spin- offs of the virtual art collectors race. I am working with the gifted musicians of Duo4Musicians on The Pearl Nizwa exhibition. Soprano and medical doctor Maria- Elizabeth Bezuidenhout and gifted oboe player John Rojas recorded a beautiful song about Oman in Bakersfield California recently. We are leaving Oman at short notice as laws here do not make provision for me not taking a vaccine due to Secondary Sjogren Syndrome with mixed tissue disorder I have been diagnosed with in my 20’s. There is also a problem with our visas to reach our home in Bulgaria which we are building up into an artist retreat. We cannot lose residency and still apply for our visas in Dubai at the closest embassy and they do not have a service collecting our biometric data in Oman. Life is in a particular gear. I do also need specific medical attention soon. Other than that I am slowly bringing my collection inventory online. Thank you for having spent this visit with me. References: 1. https://www.healthline.com/health/synesthesia 2.https://www.managementstudyguide.com/observation _method.htm 3.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_medium_is_the_mes sage 4. BIOGRAPHY: MARIA-ELIZABETH BEZUIDENHOUT – Duo4Musicians 5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soshanguve 6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_citizenship 7. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/9932337-what-smeant-for-you- will-reach-you-even-if-it-s 8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Morris The copyrights of all the images belong to the artist
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Edgar Invoker Edgar Invoker Hello Edgar and welcome to ART Habens. Before starting to elaborate about your artistic production we would like to invite our readers to visit https://www.saatchiart.com/edgar in order to get a wide idea about your artistic production and we would start this interview with a couple of introductory questions. You have a solid formal training and you hold a Master of Arts, that you received from the prestigious I. Repin St. Petersburg State Academy Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture: how did those formative years influence your evolution as an artist? In particular, how does your cultural substratum direct the trajectory of your current artistic research? Edgar Invoker: Greetings to the Art Habens team and all the readers of this wonderful magazine. Yes, I studied at a rather prestigious educational institution and this could not but affect my creative path and skills as an artist. It should be noted that the Russian Academy of Arts has a varied history, which of course influenced this educational institution both practically and ideologically. One way or another, the Academy of Arts is a state institution and is part of the system. As befits a systemic institution, the academy is called upon to graduate systemic people. High-level professionals who will subsequently fulfill government orders and create a cultural narrative that reflects the policy of the state. 404 Special Issue An interview by , curator and curator Historically, the Academy was imperial and reflected the corresponding mood of the empire.
Special Issue 24053 In the Soviet period, it was a marten of propaganda cadres. Based on the above, it is important to note that it was practically impossible to simply learn the techniques of painting and the basics of drawing at the Academy of Arts without the influence of ideology. In the process of learning, I felt a certain pressure from above regarding what and how to draw. This concerned both the subject matter of the work and the manner of performance. I must say that before entering the academy, I already had an idea that I would like to engage in contemporary art in the truest sense of the word. For me, studying at the university had an absolutely practical meaning - to learn how to portray what I want. It can be said that I was formed in the process of internal resistance in combination with attempts at adaptation without losing my identity. On a purely professional level, I got a pretty solid foundation that helps me plan the creation of the image with a preliminary understanding of what is required for this. How to solve the set task stylistically, and what methods will be needed for this. The training in human body imaging in the framework of the institute's programs taught me to understand the image of the system and structure in principle. It doesn't matter what I portray. the main thing is that I perceive it as a kind of organism that has certain laws of construction. Visual taste is the product of a similar approach. At the same time, it is important to note that this is not some kind of qualification in the selection of what art should be, ART Habens Edgar Invoker
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ART Habens Edgar Invoker Special Issue 24073 although I dare to note that the Academy of Arts is trying to impose a certain taste on the choice of what kind of art you will do and prefer. The taste that I developed in the learning process allows me to feel the relevance or excess of elements in the structure, system, fabric, etc. different directions of art, regardless of their formal presentation.
ART Habens 24081 Special Issue I studied at the Department of Painting, specialization - monumental art. The choice was not accidental, I always liked working with paints, but at the same time, from childhood I was a graphic artist and often drew with ink on paper, making illustrations for the books I was reading at that time. Monumental decorative art combines elements that are important to me - Edgar Invoker
Special Issue 24093 stylization, laconic palette. graphics of lines, purity of interpretation of forms. Striving to create a sign form. All this is reflected in my creative quest. As for the style and artistic direction of my work, of course I feel the influence of the school of figurative art. I often turn to human portrayal as the main element of my work, while using the legacy ART Habens Edgar Invoker
Edgar Invoker ART Habens 24121 Special Issue
24101 Special Issue of photorealism as a genre, while experimenting with techniques. Even my abstract works can be called anthropacentric. In them I turn to the topic of perception For this special edition of ART Habens we have selected your Memory's Gloss series, a stimulating project that has at once captured our attention for the way it uses visual language in a strategic way to offering an array of meanings to the viewers: when walking our readers through the genesis of your Memory's Gloss series, would you tell us something about your usual setup and process? Edgar Invoker: Thank you for your interest in this series of works. For me, this is a rather personal project, while I tried to touch upon images that are understandable to many people. I often use the abstraction style as a starting point for finding images. It is like looking at the clouds in search of fantastic beasts. Initially, the canvases on which the Memory’s Gloss series was created were intended for another project under the name Temporarily Unnamed. The series is dedicated to the process of pattern recognition, namely the moment when the image is in the process of recognition and perception is balancing on the verge of recognizing the object. I was missing 8 canvases to expand the exposure and I was planning to make an additional series stylistically based on the main series. But as is often the case in creativity, everything took a different route. I spontaneously created 8 abstract figures on 8 canvases with a spatula and pieces of plastic using acrylic paint mixed with varnish. The idea came quite spontaneously to make a series of works dedicated to images from personal history out of these canvases. The trigger was an accident. I stood in the supermarket in line at the checkout and saw a dog that stood in front of me and looked in my direction. It was everyday, but at the same time I felt how the layer of memory that belonged to my childhood made itself felt. This approach is typical of my creative method. But this time I focused not on images from dreams or my subconscious, but on memorable events that happened to me in everyday life. This gave a similar but still different result than usual. For your Memory's Gloss series, you seem to have drawn inspiration from your personal experience, and we daresay that it reveals a channel of communication between Present and Past. How do you consider the role of memory and of everyday life's experience in your creative process? Edgar Invoker: Memory for me is the basis of perception. We can say that this is the compass of awareness. Everything I do in art is somehow based on working with memory. Whether it's dreams or memories of a personal story. Memory for me is like a medium through which an image is created or information is transmitted. It is the influence of memory on the perception of everyday life and the direction of attention that interests me most of all. Edgar Invoker ART Habens
Special Issue 24113 I feel the deep power of the images that are in my memory. I feel their influence on my attention. Based on this, I refer to the canvases I have prepared with a specific setting. In abstract spots, I seek projections of my memories. A collection of images containing emotional clusters. ART Habens Edgar Invoker
24121 Special Issue The events of the past are like the pillars of the bridge on the other side. Memory is the bridge itself. Our everyday attention is conditioned by the starting point of the bridge. The energy of attention moves along such a bridge back and forth, even if we do not notice such a connection. Edgar Invoker ART Habens
Special Issue 2413 We have been particularly impressed with the sense of movement that marks out your interesting Consciousness and Entrance to the map, and we really appreciated the way your artworks create such enigmatic patterns, communicating an alternation between tension and release. How does your own psychological make-up determine the nuances of tones that you decide to include moment by moment in your artworks? ART Habens Edgar Invoker
24141 Special Issue Edgar Invoker: The works you mentioned refer to the period of the beginning of my acquaintance with the practice of lucid dreaming. The choice of tone and accents was due to the special state of erasing the border between sleep and reality, while diligently concretizing this transition. The whole practice of trying to be aware in a dream is a series of concentration and directed relaxation. A sense of tact and timing is very important in this case, while excessive efforts lead to the opposite of your intentions, the result. This is a very interesting experience and its influence on my work is quite strong. Your technique allows you to create new kinds of visual languages that expand and even trascends the nature of human perception, inviting the viewers to elaborate such a wide number of interpretations. French Impressionist painter Edgar Degas once remarked that Art is not what you see, but what you make others see: how would you consider the degree of openess of the messages that you convey in your creations and how open would you like your works to be understood? Are you particularly interested in arousing emotions that goes beyond the realm of visual perception? Edgar Invoker: The visual language in which I speak with the viewer is largely due to the time that shaped me. We exist in the era of mass media and information dissemination technologies. We can say that the language in which we think is in many ways the language of mediums for transmitting information. Photos, magazines, screens, monitors, etc. All this takes up most of our figurative memory. Yes, many artists are concerned with reaching the purest possible message to the viewer. The presence of interpretations of their work is regarded by them as imperfection. I am one of the artists who are not worried about the possibility of unexpected interpretation of my works by the viewer. In my opinion, any understanding is illusory. Only experience is real. It is the experience of being aware of the work of our perception. I am not trying to convey information. Now fixing equipment does an excellent job with this. What I am doing is more like an attempt to discover the properties of the process of perception. An attempt to grasp sensations at the periphery of the gaze. I am interested in making the viewer feel himself through my works. As you have remarked in your artist's statement, what fascinates you the most is how human’s consciousness adjusts itself during the perception of external world. We dare say that create works of art that challenge the viewers' perceptual parameters, to create interzones of sensory perceptions: how do you consider the relationship between reality and imagination, playing within your artistic production? Edgar Invoker: Yes, perceptual adjustment is an amazing process. We can very quickly process sensory experience by losing the boundaries of the real and the imaginary and turn our fields of imagination into real territory. As I see it, the road to reality is difficult enough for perception. We literally have to wade through the thorns of the imaginary to real events. I am interested in the moment of the gap between the real and the imaginary. The moment when we switch from direct Edgar Invoker ART Habens
Special Issue 24153 perception of phenomena to interpretation. Catching this moment can only be immersed in an environment of uncertainty. This is the kind of environment I am trying to create in my works. At the same time, I have no goal to show the viewer "reality" but rather to immerse ART Habens Edgar Invoker
24161 Special Issue him in an experience in which he will discover the process of choosing interpretations. In my opinion, we live in a great time to understand the peculiarities of our perception. Artificial intelligence, cinema, virtual and augmented reality and the entire culture of reproduction and mass media are projections Edgar Invoker ART Habens
Special Issue 24173 of the mechanism of our consciousness. This is how our memory and perception function. We have studied the world around us for a long time to understand it. We now have the opportunity to study our surroundings to understand ourselves. For last several years you've been interested in consciousness, cognition, machine learning and ART Habens Edgar Invoker
24181 Special Issue AI and we have really appreciated the way you draw from scientific imagery, to expanded the relationship between Art and Science: how do you consider the relationship between artistic research and scientific method? In particular, how does in your opinion art could be used to explain scientific themes? Edgar Invoker: Yes, I am really interested in news from the world of science, both applied and fundamental. This interest appeared in childhood when I spent long hours looking at and reading popular science magazines. I was very interested in astronomy, I even made a telescope from improvised means to look at the moon. Everything that I learned certainly penetrated into the subject of my drawings. Science for me has always been one of the ways of knowing the world. Science has its own guidelines and tools. A certain profile of thinking. I have always been attracted by the interest of science in the world around us and in man. This is the spirit of exploration. I always knew that I was an artist and I have my own method of understanding the world, which is different from the scientific one. But the artist is also a researcher. The artist works directly with the impression of the surrounding world. With images and sensations. There are many variables here that are difficult to grasp. Findings made by scientists can be researched and supplemented by artists, which will create an additional facet of perception. The influence of images on a person is immensely powerful. I would say that our consciousness consists of images by a very large percentage. In a sense, I am complementing a phrase made by science by giving a visual form to this statement. It is also important to note that the artist is free to combine absolutely opposite concepts and attitudes. To be a kind of mediator between the scientific and antiscientific picture of the world, which often gives interesting results and can expand the boundaries of understanding the world. An aspect of your practice that we would like to highlight is your ability to create artworks marked out with powerful metaphoric features to reflect the act of discovering the unknown: how important is for you to create artworks with allegorical aspects? Edgar Invoker: Indeed, allegories and metaphors are of great importance to me. The language in which we communicate with the outside world is not limited to linguistic forms. Images are important. This is a very capacious cluster of information with a high transmission potential. Apparently our psyche is prone to inversions of the incoming signal. Allegorical images are already an inversion and reach our consciousness quite effectively. Apparently, allegory is the language in which we can refer to our collective memory. To invoke the experience of ancestors for a clearer awareness of what we meet in the unknown. The history of development and the history of human thought is not linear. There were periods of major breakthroughs to knowledge that was subsequently lost. It is naive enough to believe that we are now living at the peak of human discovery. Edgar Invoker ART Habens
Special Issue We are on the way of the ups and downs of humanity as a species, and our time is only one of the turns. The study of consciousness and images that activate our hidden areas of memory is very important for understanding ourselves as a phenomenon. Art plays a big role in this case. You are an established artist: over the years your artworks have been internationally exhibited in several occasions, including your recent show "Memory's Gloss -Temporarily Unnamed", at the Arts Square Gallery, in Saint-Petersburg, Russia: how do you consider the nature of your relationship with your audience? By the way, as the move of Art from traditional gallery spaces, to street and especially to online platforms — as Instagram — increases, how would in your opinion change the relationship with a globalised audience? Edgar Invoker: Thanks for mentioning this. Indeed, exhibitions are an important part of the dialogue with the viewer. Many viewers have followed my experiments since the first exhibitions and in a sense, this is an adventure for two. Me and my audience. Not everyone supports my desire to change genres and forms, but I dare to note that fundamentally I am talking about the same thing, formally changing the presentation of 24193 ART Habens Edgar Invoker
24201 Special Issue Edgar Invoker ART Habens
Summer 2015 Special Issue 2413 ART Habens Edgar Invoker
24221 Special Issue the material, but remaining faithful to the theme of human consciousness and attention. Regarding the influence of social networks, I want to note that now it is a hybrid form of representation for an artist working in a physical environment. All that you can see on the Internet on my page on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/edgarinvoker) and other platforms is a visual story about what you can see offline at the exhibition. The transition of physical art to the web is like reverse recursion or a dream within a dream. Pictures that have long served as a frame for the real and the fantastic are now themselves part of the virtual world on the other side of the screen. This is a characteristic feature of the transition period when the code of information transmission and the cultural code in general changes. Naturally I am very interested in arriving within these phenomena. The latest wave of fascination with NFT art, in my opinion, is significant for the period I mentioned above. Physical art is getting a real duplicate in the web world. Digital works get their physical copies. In all this, the role of social networks for me is the most important. Information exchange and social connections become central to the process of getting the audience to know the artist. Simply put, the number of intermediaries between the audience and the artist is reduced. I have the opportunity to give the earliest feedback on the state of the audience. It changes the form of art. We have really appreciated the multifaceted nature of your artistic research and before leaving this stimulating conversation we would like to thank you for chatting with us and for sharing your thoughts, Edgar. What projects are you currently working on, and what are some of the ideas that you hope to explore in the future? Edgar Invoker: I thank your team for their interest in my work. Thanks for the interesting questions. Communicating with you has expanded my experience. Now I am working with the family archive and plan to finish a series of works devoted to the topic of inheritance, but not as something material, but as an inheritance of moods and ideas that I received from my parents and relatives. This is an attempt to document the act of my perception of what is left of my ancestors. Catch my impression by fixing it in images. I also plan to delve into the world of NFT art. I'm primarily interested in the language in which you can communicate with the audience in the field of this phenomenon. The potential is huge and there is work to be done. Finally, I would like to thank the readers of this conversation for their attention! Edgar Invoker ART Habens An interview by , curator and curator
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