Painting series Mediated, 2023
Heleliis Hõim EKA graduation wor included painting series, sculpture and a video
Paintings:
1. Mediated. Oil on canvas, 210 x 270 cm, 2023
Oil on canvas
“Experience has no materiality apart from the materiality of its mediation, and mediation has no materiality apart from the materiality of its objects and subjects.” – Donna Haraway. Within an urbanised setting, individuals frequently encounter feelings of loneliness, disconnection from nature, a sense of being in-between or societal pressures. They not only contend with their own aspirations, desires, and necessities but also grapple with the expectations imposed by society and other individuals. This internal fragmentation can intensify a profound sense of emptiness, prompting individuals to seek substitutes from external sources. Jacques Lacan, the French psychoanalyst, presents the theory of ‘object a’ to delve into how desires are experienced and pursued for fulfillment. ‘Object a’ serves as a conceptual framework, representing an intangible and elusive object that individuals yearn for but can never wholly obtain. It characterises the inherent unattainability of desire within human existence. This engenders a perception that the longing for something absent can be satisfied by pursuing various objects or experiences that promise fulfillment. However, Lacan argues that these desired objects can never provide complete satisfaction because they are not the actual “object a” itself, which remains abstract. According to Lacan’s theory, the quest for “object a” constitutes a fundamental facet of the human experience, profoundly shaping the subjective reality of individuals.
2. Mediated. Oil on canvas, 150 x 130 cm, 2022
Within an urbanised setting, individuals frequently encounter feelings of loneliness, disconnection from nature, a sense of being in-between or societal pressures. They not only contend with their own aspirations, desires, and necessities but also grapple with the expectations imposed by society and other individuals. This internal fragmentation can intensify a profound sense of emptiness, prompting individuals to seek substitutes from external sources. Jacques Lacan, the French psychoanalyst, presents the theory of ‘object a’ to delve into how desires are experienced and pursued for fulfillment. ‘Object a’ serves as a conceptual framework, representing an intangible and elusive object that individuals yearn for but can never wholly obtain. It characterises the inherent unattainability of desire within human existence. This engenders a perception that the longing for something absent can be satisfied by pursuing various objects or experiences that promise fulfillment. However, Lacan argues that these desired objects can never provide complete satisfaction because they are not the actual “object a” itself, which remains abstract. According to Lacan’s theory, the quest for “object a” constitutes a fundamental facet of the human experience, profoundly shaping the subjective reality of individuals.
About the sculpture: https://noba.ac/en/artwork/pretzel/
Video:
The video piece “Unfulfilled” delves into the exploration of social roles and learned patterns that shape an individual’s perception of reality based on their experiences. In a dance-like manner, the work approaches the fundamental question of “what it means to be human” by employing six anonymous bodies, thereby accentuating a subjective experience of reality rooted in phenomenology. The perception of reality is an intimate and distinctive phenomenon that varies solely for each person. Examining this experience offers insights into the unconscious processes that underlie behaviors, such as dreams, desires, fantasies, memories, the inclination to dominate or follow, and more. The video work can be likened to a social game that seeks to establish connections among individuals through non-verbal communication. Accompanying the video work is a soundtrack inspired by Raho Aadla’s text “Tosina posin”. This auditory composition serves as an exploratory study of human thought processes, including how thoughts are influenced by emotions and its soundscape by initiative, style, and more. By emphasising repetition and tonality while disregarding content, the soundtrack accentuates the anonymous nature of personal thoughts. Choreographer: Raho Aadla Dancers: Raho Aadla, Valeria Januškevitš, Joonas Tagel, Katrin Kreutzberg, Johhan Rosenberg ja Kalli Pikas
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