Snake Altar
Snake Altar, acrylic, markers, pencil, charcoal and pastels on six canvases, 280 × 200 cm, 2022
Through contrasts as well as traditional and original symbols, the cycle of six paintings arranged in the shape of an altar reflects the influence of the Catholic Church on society.
While it is impossible to deny the many positive aspects of this institution, it is necessary to critically point out the persistent negative phenomena and seek adequate solutions for them.
Some of these have become the themes of this cycle. The three bottom canvases were created using a mixed-media technique (acrylics, markers, graphite pencil, and charcoal). The transparency of the figures symbolises the invisibility of victims of violence; the contrast between a distressed female figure and a decorative curtain points to the endurance of outwardly perfect, sacralised marriages; the inquisitorial flames depict the historical continuity of the suffering of groups towards whom the church acts repressively.
On the three smaller canvases, the motifs are rendered in pastel on a dark brown acrylic base. A hand holding a cross with strings and a carnivorous plant allude to manipulative practices. The installation, working with the depiction of a snake as a typical Christian symbol of evil, raises the question: how does the church deal with evil within its own ranks?
Untitled 1, acrylic, charcoal and markers on canvas, 120 × 120 cm, 2022
Untitled 2, acrylic, charcoal and markers on canvas, 120 × 80 cm, 2022; Untitled 3, acrylic, charcoal and markers on canvas, 120 × 80 cm, 2022
Untitled 4, acrylic and pastel on canvas, 80 × 60 cm, 2022; Untitled 5, acrylic and pastel on canvas, 120 × 80 cm, 2022; Untitled 6, acrylic and pastel on canvas, 80 × 60 cm, 2022
Below you can view the documentation of the painting creation process:
Finding the arrangement of individual altar elements
The creation process of the paintings Untitled 1, Untitled 2, and Untitled 3 – for the first two paintings, I based them on sketches, and for the third one, on a collage made from my own photographs of pedestrians captured on the street.
The creation process of the painting Untitled 4 – from the original photograph of a hand with a handmade mock-up of a cross through the inverted photograph, subsequent sketch, and inverted sketch to the initial blocking-in and final execution
The creation process of the painting Untitled 5 – from sketching and inverting the sketch, through exploring the suitable colour scheme in graphic software, to the underdrawing and final execution.
The creation process of the painting Untitled 6 – sketching, inverting, and distortion of the sketch in graphic software, underdrawing, and final execution.
This series was created as a semester project in the STARTUP studio during my studies at the Academy of Arts in Banská Bystrica under the guidance of doc. Mgr. art. Ján Triaška, ArtD.