Vivien Kohler
Artist Statement
Perception unsubstantiated is tantamount to assumption, and assumption is equivalent to the lie which frames its victim. My aim is to narrate the overcoming of unfair perception in an attempt to attain the authentic self. Whether it is a personal perception of ones circumstances, a generalisation thrust upon you by society or a wrestling with your inner self. The ob
stacle might seem insurmountable, yet in reality the issue is only skin deep. Politics in its various forms, be it social, racial, financial, ancestral, physical, etc… These are all factors which hinder our personal progress. In Ben Okri’s words, “The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love and to be greater than our suffering”. As an introspective extension of this theme I am concerned with interrogations into race politics and ancestry of self as a Cape Coloured male. My heritage being that of one birthed from two different racial groups and its inevitable political discharge. My works do not hide the realities of unfair perception, but symbolically display it in relation to the liberating verdict of the human spirit upon its surroundings. Using the very elements of detention as found objects I physically go through the almost intercessory process of working with and overcoming these remnants, transforming them into displays of strength and prowess, thereby causing the characters of my paintings (present or absent) to triumph over the metaphorical heap. Whether inwardly contemplative or outwardly so, the context remains.
