,,Raising a Narcissist,, Painting

Before this, a canvas depicting bathers came into my studio. It was a very poorly made copy of some self-taught Chinese artist. In the early 90s, Chinese artists intensively and in large numbers tried to copy the ancient art of Europe. I have seen a lot of Chinese copies of old masters and many of them made me smile. This is how the idea of ​​writing the work “Educating Narcissus” arose. This is a kind of parody of Chinese imitation of European art, both in paintings and in fakes of European and world the work "Education of Narcissus" I decided to play on the opposites of cultures and art, creating a kind of inversion. Narcissus is an ancient Greek mythological character, a symbol of pride and narcissism. In my paintings I depicted Narcissus in various situations, where he looks at his reflection - in the mirror, on the water, in the window. Using motifs from ancient Greek art and combining them with elements of a Chinese copy of European art, I created a kind of mirror of hidden contradictions and parodies. The paintings depicting Narcissus are made in the style of a Chinese forgery - they have some defects and imperfections characteristic of such works. This adds an ironic twist and shows that an attempt to fake or copy art always leaves traces that indicate it is a fake. In my work I also play with the concept of counterfeiting European and global brands. As with Chinese copies, by counterfeiting them we are trying to get a piece of their prestige and significance. Thus, I show that our society also suffers from a kind of apparent selfishness and obsession similar to Narcissus. In "Raising Narcissus" I tried to convey my irony and disapproval of fakes and narcissism. It is a reflection on how much we are fixated on the external world and other people, and how willing we are to step away from this and realize our true essence.