The project is centered around the idea of the duration of monotonous action and the process of time passing through the continuation of action.

2024

pencil, oil pastels, 42x59.4

To achieve this goal, I usually use graphic materials - such as pen, pencil, charcoal and various types of pastels. The choice of material, in this case, is determined by the convenience of illustrating the process - a solid medium allows you to produce small individual touches. The stroke as a figure tends to show the level of pressure on the tool and the “concentration” of the artist’s hand - this may also indicate other factors: the number of approaches, fatigue and restlessness. Working with graphic material also allows you to layer texture and color, which makes the work more voluminous and interesting to perceive. I use ordinary A2 paper as a base, since it is easiest for a pencil stroke to fall on it. In small strokes, in rows, I begin to lay down the colors - about three tones. I compose the colors based on the color theories of various artists and designers, writings of whom I am studying. Using the color wheel as a tool, I set a general theme. After a long process of shading the paper so that it covers the entire sheet, I cover the pencil layer with a layer of oil pastel in the same manner. When the surface shading is finished, I use a sharp object at hand to engrave the figures and fields on the paper, slightly revealing the layers of the pencil. When engraving, I follow the same stroke pattern as when using a colored pencil. The very extended process of shading refers me, as an artist and my audience, to the idea of pleasure and the rationalization of one’s own desires. The pencil strokes are applied to a sheet of paper from right to left and in rows, imitating the technique of writing by hand. This idea was introduced into the work in order to better illustrate the “emptiness” of my action. In the same way, the sheet is covered with oil pastel, and when it is “removed”, the engraving will be located exclusively on the improvised “margins” of the text. These “Margins” are created not only to simulate a body of text, but also for an inversion effect, where the simulated “text” will be visible to the viewer exclusively in the margins, and the center will be hidden with pastels. The tedious and long job itself turns, over time, into a meditative process, as the brain itself begins a desperate search for pleasure from the conditions that it is subject to. When I refer to meditation, I'm not trying to make any connection to religion or self-awareness, but rather I'm trying to communicate to the audience about monitoring one's own thoughts and brain processes. In modern society, where a person is seen as a product, the cult of productivity, together with a large number of external incentives, gives rise to a race for success and popularized pleasures. My goal is to reveal this issue by examining the fact that a person loses the time their brain would normally use for passive thinking, which is the main activity in the formation of ideas and decision-making. In this construct, the individual’s psyche conflicts with the manifest of the present, therefore, boredom becomes an integral part of a productive existence instead of a setback. Boredom becomes the ability not just to act, but to create.