George Emil Odthermat — Contemporary Art Curator Magazine

Apr 30

Apr 30 George Emil Odthermat

Biography

I am a self-taught photographer and digital artist, who loves to experiment with this particular media. I have few studies in psychology and photography that help me to realize my photographic idea.

Artist Statement

I am inspired by an alternative reality in daily life that reveals itself for a moment before it disappears. I am interested in these small moments that I try to capture with my camera, although it is a futile game.
This transient moment has the power to express itself through matter. The matter is a provisional manifestation of energy. If the energy is released out from matter, there is no place, no form, no identity anymore. This is what quantum physics teaches us.
We live in a world of constant change. Everything happens, nothing is at it seems. The world is made of events, not things. Everything is in motion and relationship with each other. This is, what I try to express photographically.

What first prompted you to think of becoming an artist?

It was more a need to see the world through different eyes. If psychology says that we orientate ourselves with our eyes through personal evaluation patterns, I would like to question this through my photography. E.A. Poe once asked himself: ”Is all what we see, only a dream within a dream?” It might be, but what I’m sure about is, the more we know, the less we know. For me it is less about the knowledge, than about the feeling and the connection. We are often more functionally connected than emotionally.

What kind of an artist do you ultimately see yourself?

I believe that everyone has artistic potential within themselves. To me, artistic expression is a special relationship with myself, beyond the noisy world. I think people could practice this more, expressing themselves without any expectation or fear of what others might think. After all, it is your own expression. You could ask yourself, if you have some spare time in-between of two heartbeats, who are you without expression?

What are you hoping to communicate to the viewer through your work?

First of all, I want the viewer to ask himself questions about his own perception. What am I looking at, does it remind me of something or is it incoherent to me? I believe, that if we confront everyday patterns of perception in this way, we would reach more of our own decisions. Some of my portraits lack personal identification. Who are we when we are faceless, unrecognizable, but also without individuality? Without specificity, we are then more like machines that only function. With this, I want to address an individuality that does not consist in the fact, that we increasingly consume the same consumer goods, go on holiday to the same place and take selfies to post them. The masses have never been individual; they are rather destructive. The virus shows us in an existential way, that we should live a different form of individuality, one that is based on respect and appreciation for the natural habitat we share with all living beings. But for that we would have to question our thinking and perception far more often as we are used to. Comfort might give us some security but not developed and healthy freedom.

Can you explain the process of creating your work?

There is no set plan of how I proceed, sometimes I have images in my head that I want to realize and I make an effort and they turn out to be nothing. Other days I realize something without much effort. What I often notice in the process is that the first intuition, the felt moment, is the decisive one.

What is your favorite part of the creative process?

The stunning moment that arises, when something new is emerging, what you didn’t expect. The question that ascends for me is how new relations come into the world out of old structures. Another aspect is when you feel that something is finished.

Can you give us an insight into current projects and inspiration, or what we can look forward to from you in the near future?

I would like to continue my project about the lost individuality a bit more and then deal with the different concepts of reality. Virtual reality seems to blur the boundaries of sensory reality. While organic material decays, the virtual world seems to promise eternal presence, well as long as there is still electricity. ;-) Perhaps algorithmic reality implies a transcendence, that we have lost in everyday life. I would like to realize this transhumanistic aspect photographically.

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