ANNA FRIESEN

Painting/Drawing “4 Corners Unraveling”

Earlier works with soot as a media, were concerned with showing the essence of objects – the Big Bang moment which began all of creation, and how that moment, today, is contained in all matter.

Tied to that idea is the concept of ‘heaven and earth’. The connection between ‘heaven and earth’ is played out in Chinese brush landscape paintings, and in ritual which uses smoke and fire to represent cleansing and renewal, and the desire to connect to higher consciousness.

Creating ‘4 Corners Unraveling” was an act of spontaneity. The two panels have become parts of one idea: that the trusted structures for maintaining seats of governmental and spiritual power are indeed unraveling. There is no longer a reliable guide of ‘true North.’

However, perhaps now is an age when we are called to live in that uncertain state when it is difficult to tell what is forming and what is disintegrating. These pieces reflect that state of uncertainty, offering a beauty of the spectacle, while the outcome is still to be seen.