Composition 448 – "Escape" - Limited Edition of 11 Print

Composition 448 – "Escape" (Bruges, 2019) is part of a collection called “Platonic Views”. These images are not real. They are not truthful. They are at the same time, not meant to lie, confuse or obfuscate. In fact they are intended to clarify that indeed, they are NOT truthful in very much the same way as Magritte’s painting, The Treachery of Images (which depicts what seems to be a pipe together with the written statement: “This is not a pipe”). They are captured from reality, however what is shown is not what there is, but what I wish there to be. The images are platonic views, idealised views. These images say to the viewer that this is not reality. The image has been transformed into something that could be real, but is in fact something I conjured up. The images are a quasi-reality. They are verisimilar – that is they may look real, but aren’t. Verum meaning truth and similis means similar. Similar to truth, but not truth. The original photos have been turned into verisimilar images – not truthful ones. I am hoping that my images may contribute to art and society in two ways: First, to remind viewers that truth should be questioned and verified. Secondly, to please the eye with bigger than life colour and idealised shapes and forms. The intention is to create interesting and aesthetically pleasing images, based not on emotions, but on reason. In 1817, referring to the verisimilitude of novels, Coleridge invented the term: “Suspension of disbelief”: To enjoy a novel one must forget it is fiction – at least while being read. I ask the viewer not to suspend disbelief, but enjoy the image while knowing that, whatever it is, it’s not truth. I’m pulling at the heartstrings with the neurons of the mind. I hope.