Artist Statement
Artist Name: Nirmi
Ziegler
Work title: ‘Who
I am’
Date of production: 2013
Media: Handmade
paper, water colour, cotton thread
Dimensions (h x w):
45 x 65 cm
General Concept:
The art works are created by using
the process of papermaking from plant off-cuts or cotton rags. The pulp forms
the basis for a process of layering. This is sometimes done with inlays applied
on the wet paper. In a further process after the drying, some of these papers
then become the support for prints, painting, embroidery, and further collage. The
main concerns deal with environmental (outer) issues and an inner exploration.
Who I am
This artwork questions the concept
of identity, which attaches itself to the variables of outer manifestations[1],
but neglects the question of ‘why we are’ in the first place. What is our
purpose beyond manmade economics, boundaries, restrictions and this artificial
construct of ‘otherness’? The five languages used represent these fabricated
identities.[2]
Instead of the emphasis on how we
differ, the concept of the artwork aims to see the path of humanity as a whole,
investigating it from the paradigm of self-experience, also known as
meditation.
Investigation
‘Who I am’ is a poem written in 2006 as part of an inner
exploration. In this artwork fragments of the poem are used, which correspond
with the colours, forms, lines, and textures of the work. This further emphasises
the various investigations into the self. The four colours code the four
experienced levels of being: nothingness (white), existence (blue), tangible
reality (yellow), and the individual (red). The mainly abstract character of
the artwork makes reference to the beginnings of this genre, which was essentially
spiritual in its concept.
[1] such as
( the ‘big’ issues of) nation, religion, culture, and ( ‘trivial’ matters of) food,
sports,‘soapies’, car-, computer- and cell phone brands, and the lot.
[2] The
poem is in English, but for this artwork, parts of it were translated into
different languages: Italian, Latin,
French, German and English.
Io sono una parte
Ero e sarò sempre una parte
I
am part
was and will always be part
je changé
I
change
Muto formae
Mutatis mutandis
I
change my forms
I
change
and
change
Ich
bin mir selbst ein Rätsel
wer ich wohl bin?
wer ich wohl bin?
I
am a mystery to myself
what
I am lies outside my perception
and still I am and will be
eternally a part of this
existence
Fragments
from the poem “Who I am” by NIRMI
16. February
2006
