Oh Giorgio II, 2020, oil paint on canvas, 135 x 185 cm, photo Tomas Uyttendaele

‘Oh Giorgio!’ Or: ‘Theatre of Life’

In addition to the Self-Portraits Without Title and Tray Portraits, Nele Tas has been working on Oh Giorgio! 

‘The Tempest’ by Giorgione forms the starting point and, for the time being, is still the anchor. A man and a woman, the latter nursing a child, each occupy a corner of the painting, separated by a dark watercourse. One is protective and watchful, clothed; the other protective and compassionate, naked. A strange sculpture separates the foreground from the background. In the centre of the picture: a pool of water, a bridge above. Despite the storm, everyone and everything seems to be holding its ground. The water is still. The trees are static.

For Tas, Oh Giorgio! functions like a giant puzzle in which all the pieces are interchangeable. She is specifically looking for the right approach to ‘the actively crumbling’ image and ‘shifting fragment’. She wants to be able to juggle the pieces. She hopes to find a language in paint for this, her own way of thinking and acting as a painter. Will it be an idyll, a utopia or a nightmare? The search for her ‘theatre of life’ is only just beginning.