Finding the truth in art and imagination, combining worlds that have never been touched before, is the approach of multimedia artist Annina Roescheisen. The artist is about to open her brand new exhibition The Red Twine of Flying Dragons, which is taking place in Los Angeles. Her new exhibition works as the sister collection to her prior body of work, titled Flying Dragons. Flying dragons mirrored the mystical symbolism of dragons into her inner world. Emotions, according to Roescheisen are like dragons, they can both not be scientifically proven, yet somehow they feel real. A dragon’s power feels similar to the power of emotion, she states. The red twine expands the initial thoughts of her first exhibition, which was an exploration of human emotions through the symbolism of colour.
Birds mixed media on aluminium canvas by Annina Roescheissen, 2019
The Red Twine of Flying Dragons is an all-new selection of 7 mixed media paintings and 13 mixed media ink drawings. The exhibition opens on the 7th of November and is ongoing until the 5th of December in Athenessa Galley in Los Angeles.
Blossom mixed media on aluminium canvas by Annina Roescheissen, 2019
Her work is inspired by medieval art, iconography and fairy tales. Colour is one of her main mediums of expression, its layers help her create the complex worlds of human emotions in one artwork. Moreover, she feels drawn to the human body and how it reacts to its sensitive environment from textures to sounds. When she creates, her own body becomes an inherent part of the artwork, both the object and subject of it, whether performative or materialized.
Apart from the human physique, another central part of Annina’s work is exploring the truth – whether that’s in ourselves or in her work. SLEEK spoke with the artist to discuss what “truth” means to her.
Creatures 2 mixed media on aluminium canvas by Annina Roescheissen, 2019
What is truth to you?
“Speaking truth” evokes directly to me “speaking from the heart” — what you deeply feel within yourself. It calls to that spot in your heart, one which we all have, yet unique to each of us, that I call the pure spot — meaning that this one spot leads you to speak your truth as purely as possible, without the interference of the head, of reason, of perception, which often tend to direct us into speaking out by “wanting to be right and persuade yourself or the other of it” of a non-truth.
At times, we do not even want to acknowledge a certain truth, or certain truths, to ourselves. We prefer to keep our eyes and hearts shut, shut down to be precise, and not to listen to that inner voice, as it would be too painful or we somehow are too fearful to listen to it. If and when you eventually face and overcome your fears and your pains, and listen to your truth, truth becomes freedom. Your proper freedom.
Truth has in my eyes nothing to do with the dual perspective of right and wrong. Truth to me is about deep honesty first towards myself internally, before my very own voice transmits it outwards, to others. Truth is like a pure, clean message that can be spoken out loud or just listened to within oneself. This truth can almost sound like it is not your own voice, as the words will be spoken and heard in peace, and in a very neutral, almost emotionless, likewise pure, simple, deeply inherent way. As though, and because, this truth had always been there.
From other times mixed media on aluminium canvas by Annina Roescheissen, 2019
How do you find truth within your work? Within yourself?
I am not trying to find any truth in my work, as in my eyes there is no truth to be found in my work. There is only feeling, seeing with your eyes open, seeing with your eyes closed, listening, and dreaming.
The less I try to control anything, let it be truth or anything else, the more I feel I can truly generously, purely, loyally transmit what passes through me at a given instant. Rather than trying to be true — I realize that I am most true when I simply am rather than try to be.
I guess when you think about the truth you are already caught up in your head, whereas when you feel about truth, it brings you right back to your gut feeling, your intuition. The more I live out of my gut feeling and intuition, the more I feel free. And when I feel free, I feel that there is a certain truth to that — or in the very least, it is my truth at this precise moment, one free of intentions, free of objectives.
Témétaire mixed media on aluminium canvas by Annina Roescheissen, 2019