SOLD
2015/12
< 100 × 200 cm / acrylic on canvas >
The final +1 piece of my 12-part series H’Animalism, which marked Tom’s artistic breakthrough in 2015!
The series explores the concept of the “Human Animal.” Through twelve different characters, he sought to reveal the instinctive, animalistic side of human nature that we unconsciously suppress and try to conceal in our modern world. We can‘t put on suits to hide our claws.
When the painting was first unveiled at its presentation, the large, central mirror in the background was still completely white. As Tom pulled the cloth away to reveal the painting in front of the audience, he lifted his camera in that very emotional moment and captured the audience’s reactions in a photograph and later incorporated this photograph into the previously white frame, creating a painting within a painting.
Perhaps the mirror asks us to look beyond the masks we wear and the roles we perform in society. Beneath our carefully constructed appearances, what remains of our animal nature? And when we look at these figures, are we simply observing them or are we, in some way, looking at ourselves?