SIREN

SIREN, 2018
1500 x 1500 mm
OIL PAINT and DIGITAL COLLAGE on museum paper on board

The title of this work alludes to Greek mythology, where sirens were creatures which enticed sailers to their destruction with their irresistibly beautiful singing. Contrary to the traditional interpretations of sirens, the work by AD-Reflex, can instead be seen as an abstract and metaphorical ode to female energy and determination. The contemporary narrative and interpretation by AD-Reflex compose a very different melody, one that empowers, and that cannot be disrupted. Sirens, according to the collaborative duo, chant songs of survival and emancipation. The circle format, together with photographic traces of lava erupting, seductive textures and the reckless use of the colour red, further strengthen the inherent symbolism of the work.  

AD-Reflex explore 'paint' as a medium (both in its traditional form and through digital painting), together with process-led abstraction as an approach. Through the use of various complex processes, mythological landscapes, drips and digital elements appear, then melt away in abstract compositions, which feels like abstract sculpture on canvas.

The work, SIREN, moves in the grey area between abstraction and representation and uses the strengths of both - the ability of representational imagery to communicate specific ideas via the object's inherent symbolism and the mood and feeling that abstract imagery creates. The apparent seamless integration of AD-Reflex's digitally engendered worlds and the more expressive, tactile qualities of the oil medium creates  a tension that not only celebrates the illusionary achievements of the mimetic tradition of painting, but deliberately complicate the surface with unexpected disruptions / juxtapositions of meticulous composition and sensual recklessness.