NARCISSUS

Who do we love?

Narcissus, 2023
Oil paint, acrylic, carbon fibre and aluminium
Unique work
H60 x W60 x D10cm (face)
H140 x W120 x D15cm (frame)
© Mark Humphrey

“NARCISSUS REVISITS THE GREEK MYTH OF A MAN CONSUMED BY HIS OWN REFLECTION, BRINGING IT INTO THE AGE OF THE SELFIE AND SOCIAL MEDIA, WHERE OUR SENSE OF SELF CAN DEPEND ON HOW OTHERS SEE, LIKE AND JUDGE US. THE FACE FLOATS WITHIN A WEB-LIKE STRUCTURE, REFERENCING BOTH THE SPIDER’S WEB AND THE WORLD WIDE WEB – NETWORKS THAT CONNECT, SURROUND AND CAN ULTIMATELY ENTANGLE.

SET WITHIN AN ORNATE OLD MASTER FRAME, THE PORTRAIT APPEARS PERMANENT AND IMPORTANT, YET THE PICTURE HAS NO CANVAS OR CONVENTIONAL BRUSHWORK. ‘PAINTED ON AIR’ AND SUSPENDED BY TRANSLUCENT THREADS, IT SEEMS FRAGILE – MUCH LIKE THE DIGITAL WORLD OF TODAY.

EVERY POST, VIEW, COMMENT AND HEART IS ANOTHER STRAND HOLDING US TOGETHER. THE MORE WE SEEK APPROVAL, THE MORE PRECARIOUS IT BECOMES – UNTIL WE ARE CONSUMED BY OUR OWN SELF-IMAGE IN THE PURSUIT OF BEING ‘LIKED’.”

Mark Humphrey