Off the Deck
Surrealism × Post-Impressionism
This series began as an exploration of how two art movements could be merged into one visual language. The idea combines the expressive painting technique of Post-Impressionism with the distortion, exaggeration and imagery of Surrealism, drawing from the strange and often unrealistic nature of dreams and nightmares. The playing cards are the central idea of the series, providing a familiar visual structure that I could manipulate and reinterpret through these two art styles.
Experimentation & Development
Playing cards became the central visual element of my series because of the symbols, characters and established hierarchy. I experimented with distorting, exaggerating and transforming the cards, while juxtaposing them with objects and imagery from different contexts.
Off With Their Heads!
This piece is a strong tribute to the Queen from Alice in Wonderland. She was often portrayed as the villain, but there were times when I felt a twinge of sympathy towards her. The stroke over her head was later added, hinting towards some of my childhood imagination and a form of imagery. This became a starting point for a more personal and surrealistic interpretation.
Play By Ear
This piece draws more directly from Van Gogh’s Sunflowers and its visual language. The irony of the situation was unexpected but the goal was to portray surrealism through a musical instrument and how it works around cards.
Wild Card
Joker is always an extra card, a substitute. For once I wanted to represent the Joker and give the power it rarely gets - the ability to change the entire game. Its presence can shift the balance and make everyone else play by its rules, kinda like a wild card entry.