Press release: Ambient Anxiety presents two ambitious female artists at the beginning of their careers with a series of abstract paintings exploring an unshakeable sensation that exists in contemporary everyday life. Two modern neuroses collide: environmental helplessness with technological dependency.
About
The joint concept follows the idea of “ambient anxiety” first introduced by Paul Virilio in “The Original Accident” book from 2005. The artists individually see the collapsing environment and the glitch as the frontiers of reckoning with humanity. One shows the limits of our planet. The other indicates the limits of our technology. Both comment on the unsustainable speed of humanity’s material progress and unfolding entropy. Adding the global pandemic and geopolitical instability on top of it, our minds and hearts are saturated with every imaginable anxiety on a daily basis. This show paints the distress our inner, and outer worlds are under.
Djuro Selec’s (djuro.art) work explores the relationship between idealised contemporary life and the virtual lives that interrupt it. Her imaginary digital-like scenery portrays how technology moulds our perception of time, nature and oneself. The artist’s visual dialect mimics a computer graphics one, with masking, airbrushing and grid systems whose glitches invite us to wake up and peek through the cracks of the technosphere.
“I was drawn to Djuro’s unique visual style, achieved through masking and layering spray paint, creating glitchy interference that plays with our perception,” says Chris Corbin, Director and Curator, Curious Kudu Gallery.
Elina Yumasheva (elinaart.com) explores the intersection of art and science by working with abstraction and landscapes in mixed media. Her research focuses on environmental issues – being able to emotionally express them as an artist and decipher the science behind them creates her unique signature style. One may observe how the portrayal of light moves from projecting strength, firmness and sharpness to the subtle feeling of softness and fragility.
“Rich in textures, shapes and forms, Elina’s works, often in monochrome, are a truly fascinating light journey that connects with you deeply on an emotional level,” comments Chris Corbin, Director and Curator, Curious Kudu Gallery.
Concerns, such as climate change, plastic pollution, human rights, increasing reliance on technology, the ongoing pandemic and military conflicts, have become eerily present in our lives. Overwhelming or subtle, they persistently determine our feelings, thoughts and actions.
“These two brilliant emerging artists identified today’s society’s pain points and unveiled the complex socio-economic and psychological dynamics of modern disquiets through a series of fascinating abstract works,” concludes Corbin.
Ambient Anxiety is an invitation to reflect and contemplate our modern wrestles of overwhelming anxieties.
The exhibition will take place from 1st April until 1st May 2022 at Curious Kudu Gallery, 117 Queens Road SE15 2EZ. To attend, please RSVP here.
For more information, please contact info@curiouskudu.com.
UPDATE: The show has been extended until the 29th of May 2022.