'Es (the above I)'

About

Catalyst Arts is proud to present Es. This exhibition is showcasing new commissions from four international artists who are both gaining recognition for, and are in the practice of fully realising artworks of a highly substantive, qualitative and contemporaneous nature. Albeit the outcomes are very diverse, the four artists chosen share a common thread in their practice. The departure point for them all is drawing which underscores their methodologies, but the show Es presents a prismatic range of end results, from drawings on paper or directly onto the gallery walls, through to painting, sculpture, installation and film. It offers an opportunity to compare and contrast the ways in which the exhibiting artists combine these different media within their practises.

A delicate web of connections, spanning three vibrant artistic communities unites these works. The title for the show reflects this element of connectivity and translation. The image has the word ES written in the sky; the German for IT. The Freudian term for the division of the psyche is Es, Ich, àœberich (id, ego, superego), yet its direct translation is "It, I, over I". However, if one does a search for a translation online, one gets "The Above I". This also serves as a suitable metaphor for the act of drawing itself as gaining understanding of the world through the eye of the artist; processed in the psyche and expressed by the artist's hand, it consequently translates the world into moments of resolved meaning. This form of translation also hints at man's metaphysical conundrum of trying to gain understanding of our position in the universe: the IT (everything) above I (the individual).

These subtly evolving semantic links furthermore serve as a metaphor for the interconnectivity of the artists' practice, highlighting the similarities and differences informed by their cultural surroundings.