2020
Acrylic on unstretched hessian
2085mm (H) ×1495mm (W) ×55mm (D)
Taking memories of the details of his favourite cinema growing up in San Francisco, Christchurch New Zealand based artist Mark Soltero creates hauntingly beautiful contemporary abstract art that combines repetition of pattern with a deep fascination for the way that art can embody universal memory. Rorschach patterns were said to reveal something about a patients inner psychology - and Soltero's work is no different. No matter what you see in this piece, there is no denying it has a mesmerising quality that draws you into its central vortex, revealing different things each time you look.
An image space comes together as a result of two independent functions – the way we see objects and events in our surroundings, and how we think about these objects and events. Thinking connects us to images through memory, thus engaging us in time and history.
What appear to be abstract shapes are in fact the shadows of seats within a cinema from a bygone era. The large open weave of the industrial carpet backing allows light to pass straight through it while struggling to contain the forms that make the image. The base material seems at odds with the reflective quality of metallic silver paint that forms the screen. The shadows coalesce in the centre where they flip and mirror each other.