The Remedy

Water is the oldest of remedies. That is one of the bits of wisdom young Joukahainen boastfully lists in a duel of songs against the ancient sage Väinämöinen in the Finnish and Karelian epic Kalevala. The depth of Joukahainen’s understanding was not quite enough in the battle and after the hot-headed youth looks to resort to violence, he ends up being sung into the swamp by the eternal bard.

This is second work in the series where I am bringing the concepts of color experience that I have been working with in traditional art side with my paintings, to merge them with the digital drawing. This is exploration of abstract cyberpunk inspired aesthetic, influenced by glitch- and generative art - Though all of this is made by hand, with tools available in MS Paint, in an essentially laborious and time-consuming process, which allows for contemplation as I’m working.

In the first piece of the series, The Fever, I was working with the color yellow, which took my thoughts to joys of wealth as well as the negative aspects coming with greed, as we were observing the crypto markets heating up in the background at the time.

In The Remedy we are in the aftermath of that time, dipping in the cooling turquoise waters. Taking my time with this one, it grew out to be more figurative than the first one, with actual waves forming out of the chaotic patterns. For me it is about peace and self-reflection, spiritual work, and rejuvenation. What awaits the viewer in the waters, a restorative nap in the Bacta tank or perhaps deep dreams or nightmares in the embrace of the great Cthulhu, is up to them