Mirror An Exhibition of Contemporary Painting

by Arna Baartz

Mirror – an exhibition by Arna Baartz – Successfully completed!

Mirror ran from  22 Feb – 17 Mar 2019

Do we see each other or do we only see ourselves?
Are we comparing what we see in others with a ‘perfect’ version of ourself?
Is it possible to see deeply into the space of true reflection where we all glisten and shine?

18 a diptych painted for MIRROR

In a glory of question marks that may perhaps make us more curious in our encounters with others, Mirror opens the door into a world of connection and communication.

Our life throws us an external screen of emotional delicacy from which we choose our story line, are we paddling forward with ease or are we paddling with one oar, in circles?

Mirror is about looking at others with an openness that leads to discovery and self awareness, it’s about humbly acknowledging and releasing projections in order to see more clearly. There is also a neurological science here that can’t be ignored, to be found in mirror neurons and biomimetic programming (hello google!).

In this body of the work, you will notice a use of naive symbolism and numerology, used purposefully to attract, intrigue and even confuse aspects of the rational mind. The universe that we are intrinsically connected to, has a language that at once is mathematical yet seems to bypass our current ‘rationale’.
For example, 1881 is a mirrored number that currently shows up everywhere I go. I began to follow it like a child might a butterfly and information came quickly through many serendipity’s, leading me to historical moments that were significant in my journey of understanding connection and communication between people, particularly between masculine and feminine energy. I believe it is a powerful number but I don’t really know why, I’ve put it in my work to highlight the mirror we are for each other, the ‘different yet the same’ concept in a social connection context. I also believe looking at 1881 and other combinations of numbers can activate openings in the mind. Like mirrors and life, numbers are a kind of magic!

Holding a painting sold at the recent exhibition

Artist