Ghost Realm
Ghost Realm is a series induced by a state of uncomfortable studio practice. It’s a reaction to heightened fears, anxiety and stresses placed upon us due to recent events. When in a state of anxiety, my work goes into a safe realm of the sketchbook, which allows me freedom to purge any psychological demons from my mind and trap it into the prison of the paper. This practice has become a ritual of therapy, to keep one’s mentality stable. This project represents the evolution of my process and ritual into a more observable environment.
Ghost Realm is also a reference to Naraka, an underworld, and was inspired from the visual renditions of this realm of hell from Buddhist and Hindu paintings that I grew up with. The desolate landscape is the realm of the Hungry Ghost. A realm where cursed spirits are to wander forever, scavenging for food, only to find it already eaten, disappear in front of their eyes or abjected into something inedible. A realm reserved for those who project feeling of desire, jealousy, corruption, deceit and greed. Figures are shown through the landscape in distorted poses looking for scraps through the bones. While animals, spirits and demons keep a close eye.
The cluttered composition, horror vacui and collaged mess of anxiety bombard the viewer with more information than one can process, reflecting the emergency, panic and outburst of information produced as a reaction to an event, trigger or observation. Case in point, Ghost Realm is an environmental interpretation of the hell I create in my own mind, and a review of the current state of my reality.
