Art15 Lychee One

About

The works of Steyn and Zhang are found in the voids of memory, imagination, and folds in time through two different and personal perspectives. With a feeling of longing and nostalgia, Zhang’s work draws attention to the phantoms of memory that haunt the present. Past, present and future become entangled. One begins to question whether the paintings represent inner mental images, or images from the world. Similarly, Steyn’s work exists between the real and fantasy; human and non-human. Creatures and shapes come alive that remind us of imaginary worlds. The figures in Steyn’s work are infused with limbs and hair in an ongoing cycle that transforms them into one. Towers and landscapes made of bodies may imply the inescapable repetition through existence from incarnation and reincarnation. The fragmented, layered narratives within Zhang’s work may refer to a rhythm of meeting points between time and generations. Both artists use the imaginary in playful and thoughtful approaches to better understand the real. The viewer is invited to partake in these stories and encouraged to create their own images of the world.