Coming Inside Out

Coming Inside Out. Custom-made natural ink on fine art paper (58×76 cm each)

The project illustrates an interflow that unites the notions of suffering and
consumption. Both are unavoidable and destructive. Transformation leaves its
traces, scars and wounds, which are depicted in introspective psychological
portraits. Expression of madness, often rejected part of selves, is not abstract but
physical.

According to the current scientific paradigm all organisms consist of the same
chemical elements. The constant circulation of matter is always present; the
matter is decomposing, being digested and rebuilt. Our being is based on this
circulation. Portraying decay connects physical and emotional experiences.
Comprehensive medium – custom-made natural ink – represents the interrelation
between the species. Made from our brothers and sisters, better known as plants,
by aqueous extraction of pigments without the use of any hazardous chemicals,
the ink becomes an aid to visualize our human covers as a part of the biosphere.
In other words, we exist in a dynamic equilibrium with other life forms exchanging
atoms, contributing to sustaining each other. We also exchange pain with the
environment by sharing, retranslating and consuming. Consumed substances
become a part of us, constitute a part of us: our body with its fluids, tissues and
bones as well as our pain.

The natural ink is not only a metaphor that connects us
to the nature, but it also physically encapsulates the essence of this merge.
Painted with custom-made natural inks portraits illustrate an interflow that unites
the notions of suffering and consumption. Expression of madness, often rejected
part of selves, is not abstract but physical.

https://chashama.org/event/coming-inside-out/