Seascapes with double horizon is a metaphor. When, during the first wave of coronavirus, I started working with this metaphor, it fascinated and inspired me to create this series of drawings.
Classical landscape painters were able to integrate several different planes into their paintings (up to 5 planes can be counted in some of the best compositions). Regrettably, many nowadays’ artists are no longer keenly skilled in it. In this series of works, I attempted to convey as many planes as possible with the help of a clever trick – a composition with double horizon.
The plain surface of the sea is also a metaphor for touch screens. When a seagull flies over the surface of the water, is it possible to compare this situation with modern Man’s fingers touching an LCD screen?
The double horizon is also a metaphor for a divided society – this problem can be seen today in many parts of the world. For example, the German sociologist Niklas Luhmann found that large systems simply did not communicate with each other. I was kind of scared by this apocalyptic determinism when I was introduced to his theory, and in order to overcome my fears, I started looking for a suitable metaphor for this situation, and while searching I gradually ended up with the image of a seascape with double horizon.
This image can be interpreted in different ways, since it has an existential content and does not really need to be substantiated by any sociological theory. At the same time, these semi-abstract seascapes fit well with the Estonian identity to some extent. Why exactly these landscapes with double horizon? Maybe because Estonia has two independence days!
Artist talk: 17.05 at 17.00
