MARTYRS

Martyrs – a hermeneutics of witness transfiguration is a project which proposes to study how contemporary events influence the human body. With a focus on the effects the external factors have on both our human body and our immaterial life, the paintings represent, on one side, the chaos of the external life – as seen through its carnal and violent form – and, on the other side, a stop-frame in which the metaphysical predisposition of the soul leads to an epiphany.

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The essence – which also represents one of the main arguments of this project – lies in the primary attributes of the martyr, especially when portrayed as a witness. Day by day, we are witnessing more or less important events in the intimacy of our families or on the international stage, events that have an impact on the motion of our souls. The communication between the event and being a witness to it is validated through our in situ human presence, which is an indispensable part of this process. Thereby, a second perspective of the project emerges – the physical manifestation of the human presence. Analyzing the man as a pivot of his sensitive existence, his manifestation beyond this mere existence is crowned by the spiritual character that the body inherits, like a shell for the external, visible perception of the soul.

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The related analysis of these three instances – witness through the body as a manifestation of the soul, is necessary in order to observe the way and dimension in which these instances are interrelated and in order to understand how they shape our way of being. By their convergence, a new form of humanity emanates, in the image of the martyr.

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