The contemporary is something that reflects our time — the moment in history between what was and what has not yet been.
So, how can something be beyond contemporary?
Trends and the “flavour of the month” have always rubbed me the wrong way. They often cultivate superficiality en masse, trading identity for a perceived “right” to belong, to be “enough,” or even to have a voice. The problem is that it is pointless to have a voice if it is not yours, and pointless to be seen if it is not you on display.
I am occupied with what transcends time. Contemporary art often insinuates this month’s “art flavour,” and its relatability has limits — not least in the context of time.
Beyond contemporary art
The contemporary is bound by time, so beyond contemporary is that which is timeless — that which is always relevant, always at issue, and a constant factor on both the individual and societal level.
How do you know if something is timeless?
Certain things have been inherent to the human experience since the dawn of humanity and will remain so. They are part of the phenomenology of existence. What is timeless springs from that which is embedded in existence itself: the qualia of fear, love, and consciousness; the sensory response to danger; the internalization of trauma; our environments and relationships; the death of the soul, the death of the ego, and the death of the body.
The inner antagonist and the shadow
Throughout time, and within every individual across time, there has been an inner antagonist and a shadow — the resistance we face within ourselves, and that which we refuse to confront. Why are these themes relevant? Because it has always been worthwhile to redeem ourselves, to become who and what we truly are — to be true.
Not only do I believe it is worthwhile to pursue our truth as individuals, I believe it may also be our greatest and most important contribution to society — and, as a side effect, perhaps even the thing that fulfills us most deeply.
My art explores these phenomena and the nature of existence itself, and is therefore relatable, relevant, and current across — and independent of — time.
That is beyond contemporary.