Double Fantasy

Raymond Hummel

Degree: MFA

Area: Painting

Thesis Statement

My work is about how we relate to ourselves. These recent paintings suggest moments –or perhaps long bouts – of solitude. Just like any relationship, the one we have with ourselves requires attention and care. If, in those moments of solitude, the impulse is to escape, what do we latch onto? Sometimes fantasy feels easier to grab hold of as the reality of our lives, of what we’re able to control, slips through our fingers. Imagine all the quarantined people watching Netflix – likely turning to a tried and true show in which the characters are as real and beloved as their actual friends and family – and how it’s shaping their inner lives. This is one example of fantasy, and it is without question an escape. But fantasy more generally functions in our lives as, not just an escape, but an expression of longing. And of curiosity about what possibilities are out there for us; the life we could have yet to live.  

In my paintings a duality is presented in the form of two spaces, posited against each other, point-counterpoint, and yet are entwined. Inside and outside become fused by the instance of a window. Figures are mostly absent, except sometimes on a screen, in order that the viewer feels they are the one occupying the space. The window is itself a screen when on the glass surface appears a reflection. This complicates the space further, being a contained image within the painting that points to something that is, in cinematic terms, “off-screen.” The lingering question is: which space, or rather which reality, do we latch onto?