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MOMENT - Elfriede Dreyer

Elfriede Dreyer At at Tina Skukan Gallery

"This body of work engages with Heidegger's concept of Dasein, which denotes human beings in their everydayness, intertwining subject, object, consciousness and world.

I view communication as a crucial element in living meaningfully. In these pieces, imagery of sound waves refers to the piano's production of sound and symbolises the act of communicating voice. I interpret my piano and its resounding 'voice', its black-and-white notes (ebony and ivory), its outer appearance, inner harp, keyboard and mechanics as figure tropes of the architecture of life.

Dialogue balloons ? a graphic convention from comic books, comic strips and cartoons ? evoke a stylised idiom of humanness. Some of these balloons comment on the human condition, reflecting on the highs and lows of experience and the necessity to 'pause' in the relentless passage of time.

Dotted balloons suggest a soft whisper, while jagged balloons denote loud noise or a scream. Mountain imagery, particularly peaks, spiritually signifies a state of absolute consciousness.

A technique of layered polyphony, employed in both physical and digital media in most works, alludes to consciousness across physical, mental and virtual worlds. Comic-book graphic lines in black ink are combined with expressive emotive paint. The play with onomatopoeia ? words that mimic the sounds they describe ?? explores the interplay between word, image and sound, as well as sound evoking both word and image.

The Moment works build upon my 2023 Song of the philosopher series, which investigated the relationship of word and idea to image. In The piano, a previous 2024 series, my piano ? surviving the 2017 Knysna Great Fire ? served as the central motif, addressing themes of loss and recollection."