Saturn and Melancholy

Dust is the primary signifier in this work –images with dust, images of dust. On one side, an abstraction of splattered graphite dust, dripped, spread and fixed. On the other a photographic composition of thousands of Cassini raw images of Saturn arranged in a grid. Each side of the work mirrors the other using different media and materials.

The grid and drip evoking two poles of abstract expression in the work’s play with symmetry – or lack thereof. The structure’s strong bilateral symmetry resembles a giant Rorschach test, making an indirect link to another domain where melancholy prevails—the psycho-medical field. In turn, the viewer’s recognition of departures from symmetry invites a playful comparison between the work’s various elements. In noticing contrasts, the viewer activates the work’s broad constellation of concepts.