In the search for sacred roots in 20th–century art, calligraphic lines based on gestures and physical traces appear as an important golden thread. Here we are thinking of artists such as Henri Michaux, Brion Gysin, Yves Klein, Antoni Tapies, Mark Tobey, and Li Yuan–chia. This line is characterized by magical or sacred roots and the deciphering of the cosmic alphabet. It is no coincidence that most of these artists are characterized by alchemical/spiritual boundness.
In my series and videos, I interpret direct physical mark-making as a universal signum, sigillum, synthema, which opens the way to creative forces; gestures are no longer subjective imprints, but entities filled with presence.
Performativity was also important during the creation of the work, as the mark is made by one person at a given time, which has a special significance. The traces are effective in their immediacy, there is no subsequent intervention, and I tried to preserve this kind of immediacy and personal touch in the case of the video(s) as well. The material includes Polaroids, prints, paintings, videos, and digital prints.
Péter Kecskés