Self Seeing Exhibition
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Self Seeing
24 November - 11 December 2011
The Stone Space
Self Seeing addresses themes of identity, examining the personal and sexualised self, a subject that is constant in Cos Ahmet’s repertoire of work. Much of these themes are explored through the concept of the shadow, an underlying principle in the Jungian approach to the human psyche. Ahmet became all too aware of his own shadows and exploits this as his manifesto to create these dialogues.
Self Seeing peels back the layers to reveal something Ahmet calls ‘ever-veneers’; undercurrents of dialogue that play with identity and sexuality, using these to form new structures of discourse, resulting in a physical collage of narratives, full of unexplored parables that the artist has yet to address. As Self Seeing moves through an array of media, echoes and trace elements emerge, involving a multi-layering of emotions and experience, shaping these into ‘gestured’, ‘sexualised’ and ‘fragmented’ personalities.
Constructing ‘pseudo-selves’ and altered egos in the form of grafted self-portraits and meta-figurative beings, the mask, a semblance of the artist, presents itself as this inseparable and constant companion, appearing in his work in several guises, presenting new gestures, flirting with previous selves, offering an altered discourse. This mask features in several of these works as the head and symbolises the young ‘past self’ of the artist, placed upon the shoulders of a now older ‘wise self’, giving a mysterious yet compelling look of authority, bearing a smug ego and somewhat arrogant presence.
>> Rise Art Magazine
Self Seeing, One-Man Show featured in
'Pick of The Week Events' by David Smith
Self Seeing
24 November - 11 December 2011
The Stone Space
Self Seeing addresses themes of identity, examining the personal and sexualised self, a subject that is constant in Cos Ahmet’s repertoire of work. Much of these themes are explored through the concept of the shadow, an underlying principle in the Jungian approach to the human psyche. Ahmet became all too aware of his own shadows and exploits this as his manifesto to create these dialogues.
Self Seeing peels back the layers to reveal something Ahmet calls ‘ever-veneers’; undercurrents of dialogue that play with identity and sexuality, using these to form new structures of discourse, resulting in a physical collage of narratives, full of unexplored parables that the artist has yet to address. As Self Seeing moves through an array of media, echoes and trace elements emerge, involving a multi-layering of emotions and experience, shaping these into ‘gestured’, ‘sexualised’ and ‘fragmented’ personalities.
Constructing ‘pseudo-selves’ and altered egos in the form of grafted self-portraits and meta-figurative beings, the mask, a semblance of the artist, presents itself as this inseparable and constant companion, appearing in his work in several guises, presenting new gestures, flirting with previous selves, offering an altered discourse. This mask features in several of these works as the head and symbolises the young ‘past self’ of the artist, placed upon the shoulders of a now older ‘wise self’, giving a mysterious yet compelling look of authority, bearing a smug ego and somewhat arrogant presence.
>> Rise Art Magazine
Self Seeing, One-Man Show featured in
'Pick of The Week Events' by David Smith