Modern Times Print

Like Charlie Chaplin's 'Modern Times'... An unconditional workforce from the Industrial Revolution to the present. The disconnection between industry and people, the break between people and nature, and the destruction of both by industry. An unquestioned authority and lives revolving around like lab rats. In my works, isolated individuals and a vanishing world dominate. Unfortunately, the world I oppose in my works is also the world I exist in; it reflects my anxieties, my unhappiness, my loneliness and the emptiness I receive in return for unlimited effort. There is a resonance with Spinoza's concept of Conatus, with the discovery of isolated individuals, the disappearance of the world, and the emptiness of constant work. Just as Spinoza suggests that there is an inner existence and striving for well-being in all beings, the disconnection and dehumanization depicted in the work echoes the consequences of a world driven only by industrial forces. The struggle for existence at the individual and collective level is integrated in the web of social structures and power dynamics. My work highlights the need to reflect on the impact of this disconnection on the human psyche and to regain and nurture a fundamental drive for connection, well-being, and harmony with nature.