Ernest Anna Bessems

7 Sins
2023
mixed materials
various sizes
Duality
2023
glass, foam, acrylic on canvas
200 x 300 cm
Echo of Sins (Saw of Lust)
2024
bronze, black patinated
60 x 22 x 7 cm

My practice explores the paradox of capturing the emotional inner world. I want to show this as raw and honest as possible. In a time of post-religion and post-humanism, these emotions create an existential vacuum in which emotions remain cyclical, as the hedonic treadmill demonstrates: no matter how we feel, we always return to a neutral baseline.

Mythology is an inspiration to expose the paradox and show how we create meaning in new forms over and over again. However, I do not see starting a new religion as a solution. Instead, I focus on the balance of surrender, and with this to capture and express the elusiveness of emotion.

My use of materials reflects this process: sand, leaves, reed, clay and metal undergo decay and transformation. In performances, the raw emotions come out. In combination with sculpture, sound and paintings, I create landscapes that balance between decay and beauty. My work invites the viewer to embrace the cycle of existence and let go of control.

 

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7 Sins
2023
mixed materials
various sizes
Duality
2023
glass, foam, acrylic on canvas
200 x 300 cm
Echo of Sins (Saw of Lust)
2024
bronze, black patinated
60 x 22 x 7 cm