In this series, the paintings at the centre of each work do not refer to a specific place, time, or event. Through fragmented, blurred, and difficult-to-recognise brushstrokes, they form urban images that resist precise identification. Although these images are rooted in my own experiences, their ambiguity and non-linear qualities allow them to function more like mirrors, enabling each viewer to project their own memories, places, and moments onto the work.

 

I want viewers to slow down their process of recognition and enter a state of “delayed understanding” through fragmented information and non-linear visual narration. The works do not attempt to guide viewers directly toward a clear intellectual conclusion, but instead remain within the act of viewing itself. In this process, information enters perception and memory with a sense of delay, allowing meaning to emerge gradually through the viewer’s own experiences rather than through a fixed message, philosophical statement, or singular narrative.

 

The “frame” within the works is not simply a structural support, nor is it intended to elevate painting into a privileged object. For me, it acts more as an extension and continuation of information. Different materials are collaged and layered together, which is why the series is titled Verfremdungseffekt, borrowing from Bertolt Brecht’s concept of the “alienation effect.” In Brecht’s theatre, costumes often retained visible traces of roughness and handmade construction, creating distance between the audience and the performance so that viewers could maintain critical awareness. My frames attempt to create a similar effect. Exaggerated and sometimes absurd materials are randomly attached to the frame, further extending and intensifying the non-linear and delayed viewing experience within the works.

These three works need to be viewed together for the overall effect to fully function. If only one work is viewed in isolation, the perceptual relationships and viewing logic the series attempts to construct cannot be fully realised.