ARTIST STATEMENT

I left my birth country of Hungary when I was very young, and spent many years constantly moving (I moved houses 21 times in my life across cities, countries, continents) during critical growing-up points in my life. I couldn’t get my head around the feelings that came with having to tear up my original roots and not being able to put them down again for a very long time. And even then, even when it seemed I was finally settled, I didn’t allow myself to do so, because I thought there wasn't any point. One: surely I didn't truly belong to that place, and Two: under-confidence made me somewhat stubborn and defensive.

With time and maturity, the initial resentment turned into appreciation and realisation of how lucky I was to be able to live amongst so many different cultures and broaden my horizons.

I had to rediscover my identity. Art was the very thing that put me on the right track to finally feeling like I belong.

The continuing mixed media series I'm currently working on is a body of work based on these feelings; about tearing up those metaphorical roots, the sense of loss of identity, uncertainty, the search for belonging and the joys of rediscovering our adapted selves in new homes, while holding on to our original traditions and cultures.

I do this not only with my own history but also asking others for their stories; how they felt when they left "home" (no matter if they moved villages, cities, countries or continents - willing or unwilling), how they were able to put new roots down, how they kept a connection to where they came from, or if in fact they were glad not to ever go back and are the happiest in a new place of belonging.

I then take these accounts and interpret them through my own experiences.

 

With the element of photographic self-portraiture, I am truly able to immerse myself by placing my body directly into the stories.

With the aid of a camera, a tripod and a remote control, I take a photograph of my posed body, usually in my garage door with plenty of soft natural light.

The colours and light in this picture are then edited on my monitor to later match the feel and colour palette of the eventual painting, and to fit the preconceived idea of the final surrealistic artwork. This sometimes may involve heavier editing of the initial photograph, such as multiplying bodies and connecting them via the characters’ arms, to make them look like paper dolls.

 

After printing the base image on canvas, I use acrylic painting techniques to make the desired story come to life. This is usually the background, the clothes, accessories, natural elements, additional characters and embellishments. Often very little of the original photograph remains to be seen.

 

I like to marry Hungarian folk elements, such as costumes, motifs or elements of folk stories with surrealism to connect my own original roots with endless curious possibilities and ultimately to seduce the audience’s curiosity into a sometimes dark but always thought-provoking tale they too can find themselves in.

 

An also important part of the series are the antique frames. These were specially sourced in Hungary and have been intentionally left in their found state to further symbolise the works’ message of finding strength and resilience in hardship.   

 

Veronika Lavey

2024