Fear of Freedom

We are born into a world of preconceived ideas. No matter how openminded or enlightened we believe ourselves to be, there is nevertheless a significant part of our consciousness and interpretation of our environment that is learned in our first formative years. Our attempts to establish an internal dialogue are compromised by endless external interference. We are pushed and pulled in every direction and distracted from what is either important to us or important to us all. Democracy, capitalism, religious consciousness, scientific dogma and moderate alcohol consumption are all examples of concepts we hold so dear to our sense of virtue as to be incontestable.

Throughout human history we have asked "what is the purpose of art?" Real art makes us question. It comes from a genuine place and is at once both thought provoking and emotionally weighty. It should grab you, move you and make you stop and think. It can cause you to hold your breath, feel a cold shiver down your spine or send the hairs on your arms vertical. It can make you widen your gaze and, most importantly, open up your mind. Artists often live at the edges of society on the border between order and chaos. Of course there is always the risk of falling into the chaos. But in the end, that is precisely where they need to be to transform perception and truly inspire progress.

This exhibition comprises a selection of oil paintings created from the synthesis of conscious and subconscious thought during the period 2020 to 2024. The works contained herein pose the question, are we becoming a new version of Erich Fromm’s automatons, willingly handing over our freedom to a generation of populist leaders, technology corporations and AI?