SALON#1 at Untitled Projects shows new works by Christian Bazant-Hegemark, through which he further consolidates his figurative approach. Digital glitches and errors in image editing are fundamental in the conception of the presented pencil drawings and oil paintings. The series includes portraits and interrogations of political situations through which Bazant-Hegemark enhances his involvement with people’s trauma processing.
The displayed works do not depict trauma as such, as it is not physically visible for the viewer, but can rather be experienced on an emotional level. The artist thematizes and reflects on the dynamic of traumatized people, who often lack knowledge about their own condition for a long period of time. The works recurringly focus on the psychological symptoms of traumatized people: body dissociation, depersonalisation, amnesia, fatigue and psychological coercions. These symptoms are, apart from clichés, not directly depictable as they do not offer clear images: one’s emotional situation does not show on his surface only.
Consequently, the exhibited works – detached from everything else – seem like everyday sceneries illustrated: people sleeping, pottering, gardening, glancing; the works do not articulate the reason for these actions. The introspective look of the persons depicted refers to an internal communication, which we as spectators can never be a part of. It is not intended for us. In this sense we as the observer are always excluded from certain aspects and dynamics of an image – like trauma victims, who may lack a clear approach to their own body, recognitions, emotions etc. as a consequence of dissociations.
