CHRISTIAAN DIEDERICKS – IS PARADISE PERMANENTLY LOST?
On Captain we’ve showcased a few artists that are new and up-and-coming and that’s often what we like to do, this being a platform for our personal taste and all – but one more established artist that has always been able to blow my aesthetically-driven mind is Christiaan Diedericks.
Not exactly new or untrained in the art profession, his work can be viewed as a darkly historical, esoteric take on everything we as humans encounter and often shy away from on a daily basis, especially the religious, ecological and socio-political issues surrounding us.
These issues are elements of life that Christiaan has always embraced and translated through his work, with top classical training, impeccable attention to detail and a keenly honed natural talent. In short, his work is nothing short of magnificent.
His latest body of work Paradisus (Deperditum) (which can be translated as “Paradise Permanently Lost”), luckily does not deviate from his usual societal perspective and was actually derived from the alarming fact that our eco-system is severely disrupted, the financial system uncontrollable and the geo-political structure has begun to appear unstable. These crises infuse doubt and inspire reflection about our basic day-to-day assumptions.
As a serious contemporary artist, Diedericks is continually, within himself and through his creative output, seeking answers for alarming issues.
In its’ most basic essence this exhibition deals with healing, as the artist is currently fascinated by concepts dealing with this topic as well as modes of escape, both physical and mental. In his multi-medium creative work Diedericks is therefore trying to both expose and find solutions for this alarming reality – elixirs to heal this injury to our planet as well as the human race in general.
The Paradisus Deperditum will be opened by curator and artist Gordon Froud on the 8th April and the exhibition will run until the 8th May 2017 at The Melrose Gallery in Johannesburg. Check out the slideshow for some sneaks of the works on show.
