FREE
“Free” juxtaposes the delicate image of a European goldfinch, inspired by Carel Fabritius’s The Goldfinch, with the cold, impersonal presence of a modern surveillance camera. At first glance, the bird appears free — unchained, vibrant, alive — yet it perches atop a symbol of constant observation and control. The work subtly critiques contemporary society’s illusion of freedom in an age of omnipresent surveillance. Beauty and autonomy are watched, tracked, and ultimately compromised. The irony embedded in the title reinforces the painting’s core tension: can we ever truly be free when every movement is observed?
Besides the current state of the work, the panel has a history.
Back in 2015, I created a series called Contractions—portraits of women in labor, based on stills taken from videos they had uploaded to YouTube. At the time, I had just become a father for the second time and was struck by the beauty and rawness of the facial expressions during labor. I wanted to capture that intensity, as it came across as deeply pure.
Beyond this emotional motif, I also felt the need to cover the faces again—restoring a layer of anonymity after they had been exposed online during such a private moment in their lives.
I created several portraits, and multiple works and NFTs have been minted based on them, most of which were released on SuperRare between 2019 and 2021.
"How to Disappear Completely" 2019 SuperRare
https://superrare.com/artwork/eth/0x41A322b28D0fF354040e2CbC676F0320d8c8850d/3515
"Karakter #1" 2019 SuperRare
https://superrare.com/artwork/eth/0x41A322b28D0fF354040e2CbC676F0320d8c8850d/4107
"Karakter #4" 2019 SuperRare
https://superrare.com/artwork/eth/0x41A322b28D0fF354040e2CbC676F0320d8c8850d/4382
The work is chipped with a T.R.A.C.E. chip by Transientlabs follow this link to read more about the work and the history. Also backup files attached from the early works documented on Arweave :)
https://www.transient.xyz/nfts/base/0xd1585111227a19d6073e1a3bdef245184baa5282/1
