The series, “PostHum Condition”, consists of seven parts of which “Children Playing” and “Tammuz” are the first two chapters. Mainly inspired by Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy and various myths of the creation of the world, each section also includes other representations and references such as The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch, the deserted landscapes of de Chirico and paintings by Picasso. All have in common: Man and his forms of representation, the theme of transformation, and the balance of power between nature and Man.
PLATNIC in this new project is turning his attention towards the work of EGON SCHIELE, and clearly in doing so, he is deepening his approach of the enigma of identity because SCHIELE’s work often deals with the representation of the alter ego, the double, be it through self-portraits or the apparition of fictional twins.
Psychoanalysis throughout its history has consistently attempted to think the question of identity.
Emerging from the mystery of the origin, identity has been described by successive generations of authors as fundamentally fragmented. Sexuality, which lies at the core of identity, is seen as originally polymorphous and multifaceted. Identity and sexuality are understood as reflections of the chaos from which mankind’s psyche emerges.
Jacques Lacan when he formulated the concept of the mirror stage showed that the baby discovers the unicity of his body and his persona when he sees himself in the mirror, however this discovery which inaugurates the emergence of identity is the product of the vision of a reflection, a double. Identity is born double.
In many ways, Platnic’s confrontation with the work of EGON SCHIELE creates such an encounter. The spectator is faced with an unknown aspect of himself through the animated discovery of known works and this reminds him of the familiar/unfamiliar meeting with his own reflection in the mirror. The selection of works chosen by PLATNIC illustrates the role identity in its complexity plays in EGON SCHIELE’s “weltanschauung” (understanding of the world). Lastly this confrontation leads Michel PLATNIC to a deepening of his thinking on the question of identity and its quintessential undefinability, this at a moment in contemporary history when many in the arts as well as in politics fall in the trap of seeing identity as defining when in fact it remains, as it has always been, an illusion.
Extract from a text by Daniel Milman
Platnic created several works after Francis Bacon. The works follow specific painterly scenes by Bacon, ostensibly exploring them by reconstruction and shifting, on the technical as well as conceptual-psychological levels of the work, while employing drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, video, and performance.
On the technical level, Platnic re-stages painterly scenes, and expands them by infusing duration and movement into them. The work process involves a meticulous perusal of Bacon's chosen work; constructing a matching setting, which Platnic creates in his studio, while performing all the necessary acts of planning, measuring, cutting, sculpting, painting, etc.; directing the figures in keeping with the composition of the chosen scene; painting on the models' bodies or on his own; assimilating the figures into the constructed background via painting; unifying all of the above processes into the final work, which is a photograph or a video of a given scene.
On the conceptual level, Platnic seems to be comprehensively familiar with Bacon's paintings—their intricate architectural structure, the perception of space they embody, the emotional tumult concealed in them—yet he uses all these as a mere point of departure, striving to emerge therefrom onto other, additional dimensions. His work does not attempt to reconstruct or duplicate the exceptional painterly moment in Bacon's work, but rather to operate in relation to it. Thus, the painterly gestures underlying Platnic's practice may be awkward and crude at times, the proposed alternatives to the structure of the painted scene or the props appearing in it may have a grotesque facet, and the circumstances of the situation, as well as the psychology of the treated scenes, may gain a different meaning, but all these interfere neither with an immediate identification of the chosen scene nor with embarking on the journey it suggests. (Text: Hadas Maor)
The two living paintings of Queen Victoria and King Charles II of England are based on original paintings which can be seen in the National portrait gallery in London. Charles II was 50 years old when he was painted by Thomas Hawker and Victoria was 19 years old when painted by Sir George Hayter.
The original paintings are reproduced and interpreted using acrylic on canvas (250 x 200 cm) and placed as décor in the background of the installations. In the foreground, a living model is sitting - nude - and clothes are painted on his and hers whole body using acrylic in such a way that it reproduces the original two-dimensional paintings. In the end of the process, the installations including their respective character, are filmed.
The building process of the video works includes series of imitations and constructions to reproduce the original painting which is in itself an imitation of an ephemeral past reality. Finally, the filming documents the tri-dimensional installation that was real but looks two-dimensional and unreal.
Charles II of England (1630-1685), monarch of England, Scotland, and Ireland, was forced to exile after he lost a battle against Oliver Cromwell who instated a Republic that lasted 9 years. After this period, Charles came back to his country to restore the monarchy. Charles had no legitimate children, but acknowledged a dozen by seven mistresses.
Victoria (1819-1901), monarch of the United Kingdom from 1837 until her death, participated to a period of industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom. She increased the power of the House of Commons at the expense of the House of Lords and the monarch. Victoria's monarchy placed a strong emphasis on morality and family values
Most of my works combine performance together with other media. They are usually documented by both photography and video. I consider these documents as standalone works, each medium used gives another layer to the work.
Most of my works combine performance together with other media. They are usually documented by both photography and video. I consider these documents as standalone works, each medium used gives another layer to the work.
