“I don’t want to create art that’s beautiful, I want to create art that’s real”
My art does not aim to make a statement, its purpose is instead to appear differently to each viewer. When I start painting, I never think, for example, that I am creating a piece about climate change. Rather, the subject emerges organically throughout the process, shaped by my emotions and experiences in that moment.
However, lately, I have noticed that my work frequently explores themes of homelessness, individuality, intimacy, power structures, symbolic rebirth and trauma.
Process:
My artistic process is quite long and begins in the urban environment, where I use my camera to capture moments. Once I have collected enough material, I put the camera aside, open my laptop, and begin reviewing and editing the photographs.
After the editing phase, I start working on a reference image by layering my street photographs on top of each other, almost like manually double-exposing them. This creates a composition that guides the structure of my painting.
Before I begin painting, I draw strange shapes onto the canvas, something that I would describe as cryptic writing. This cryptic text helps me understand the proportions of the surface, making it easier to copy the structures of the reference image onto the canvas.
I enjoy this phase a lot, since I don’t really have to think anything while creating it.
Finally, I bring out the oil paints and brushes and begin painting. This stage usually takes several weeks or even months, I can sometimes complete smaller works in just a few days though.
Although I use my street photographs as references, the finished painting is never an exact copy of the source image. Instead, it develops its own form throughout the process. In my paintings, there is always plenty of room for mistakes.
Jonishiva 