modern times
Art Description
The Modern Times series is based on classical sculptures from Greek and Roman mythology that I photographed at the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin. By altering a single detail, the context and meaning of each figure shift. Ancient times become modern times.
The colour palette reinforces the sculptural character of the paintings. The figures are rendered almost entirely in white, with subtle tonal variations that suggest carved marble. The dark contrasting backgrounds evoke patina and age, as if the statues were standing in weathered niches and had just been brought to life.
Tea Time
This painting is based on ‘Psyche with the Vessel’ (1806) by Bertel Thorvaldsen. The sculpture captures the moment between assignment and transgression: Psyche holds the forbidden vessel of beauty, just before curiosity and self-overreach lead to her downfall.
In my interpretation, the vessel is replaced by a plastic cup of bubble tea. The ancient trial becomes a contemporary temptation: no longer a divine prohibition, but something available at any moment.
Play Time
In the original sculpture ‘Cupid Disarmed by a Nymph’ from 1876, Julius Moser depicts the god of love in a moment of helplessness: disarmed, his gaze fixed on the nymph, suspended between childish resentment and emerging anger.
In the painted interpretation, Cupid’s weapons are replaced by an iPad. The instrument of divine power becomes a device of the present day. The classical act of disarmament is transformed into the loss of digital control.
Battle Time
This painting is based on the sculpture ‘Victoria Throwing a Wreath’ (1841) by Christian Daniel Rauch. Rauch portrays the goddess of victory at the moment of triumph: her arm poised to cast the wreath, victory presented as a public act.
In my interpretation, the wreath is replaced by a gym handle. The symbol of an achieved victory becomes a training device. The divine gesture is transformed into a battle with oneself, and triumph becomes something still in preparation.
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