"Dead Men Tell No Tales" Painting

Kristina Berends (BDVA) is fine artist based in Auckland, New Zealand. Her practice explores the expressive and connotative power of several combined forces: Surrealism, Photo Realism, Religious Symbolism, Graphic Design and Tattoo Art. Each painting is influenced by her personal interest in Christianity, tattoo imagery, tongue-in-cheek humor, collaging techniques and Salvador Dali’s concept of the ‘Paranoiac-critical’ method. The overall function of this work relates to the modern-day issues of self discovery, self expression, identity and freedom of speech. One theoretical context in particular stems from the social debates and concerns regarding the transformation of Christian Religious Symbolism throughout history and the stereotypical perceptions attached to these symbols when they are integrated into contemporary fine art. It is here within this contentious territory that Berends’ work references her opinions and beliefs in relation to what she calls ‘socio-religious hypocrisy.’ The juxtaposed and unusual imagery originate from pre-planned collages created out of National Geographic cut-outs, printed photographs, as well as influences from old school matchbox labels, early soviet propaganda posters and pre-digital posters from Eastern Europe. These resources are referred to directly as she paints, endeavoring to exactly recreate the details of the source images. The quirky compositions and odd combinations of imagery are intended to reflect the clichéd contrasts between life and death, good and evil, peace and violence, as well as personalized aspects such as inside jokes, pranks and comical experiences. Berends enjoys noticing the quirks of the human experience and references these in a highly personal way, thereby instilling a subtle autobiographical quality to her work. The meticulous and highly detailed images are painstakingly rendered using acrylic on board to achieve optimal accuracy and precision. She states, “My goal in painting is to portray the normal as abnormal, the usual as unusual and the plain as plainly insane.”