XOXO

"XOXO" by Anna K. 

2018

53 x 43cm 

Mixed media on paper

Framed (as pictured)

Anna has always had a condition called Synaesthesia, which allows her to ‘see’ sound, smells, days of the week, numbers and letters in specific colours and shapes. Pursuing her further studies at Central Saint Martins, she decided to detour from the realism path and try to rather depict the ‘reality’ that she could ‘see’ in her mind. Getting inspired by urban culture, fashion and life itself, Anna started making abstract expressive works, freely incorporating various elements into those, such as text and found objects.

XOXO combines in it an A5 mixed-media sketch collaged over a found image of a cityscape, finished by being sprayed over with spray paint, where the frame was treated as a ready-made. It is a sort of 3-layer collage or rather assemblage. It focuses on the conceptual side of painting that makes the audience wonder was the frame used just to frame the artwork or is it part of the artwork. There is also an ironical juxtaposition of the romantic cheesy city view and the urban aesthetic of the sketch.

“Resilience means a lot of things to me. For example, I am a kind of person who is very sensitive, emotional and ‘deep’ as they say. And I see those traits of character in myself and others as strength. If someone you see is crying, that is not a weakness. It is what they do post-crying is what counts. Do they pick themselves back together quickly and keep trying, no matter what? Do they help others? Do they cry because they felt something deeply? It is being able not to give up on humanity, on art, on love after all those traumas and difficulties is what resilience means to me.” - Anna K.