Disziplin 2016

Editor: So this is "Disziplin" by Eckart Hahn, from 2016, created using acrylic paint. At first glance, it's quite unsettling. The vibrant color clashes with the rigidity of the composition, giving a surreal and slightly menacing feel. What do you see in this piece? Curator: A great starting point! The image is immediately striking due to its clashing imagery: the snake, the symbol of primordial instinct, immortality, and temptation, is constrained, disciplined. Hanging, even. Consider the circle it’s caught on; do you recognize the Ouroboros symbol? Editor: Vaguely… the snake eating its own tail? Curator: Precisely! That symbol embodies cyclicality, rebirth, infinity… here, though, the snake, and therefore the cycle itself, seems… interrupted, wouldn’t you agree? The hook it’s suspended from—so simple, but suggestive of control and perhaps even domestication, which presents us with an even deeper paradox. This image challenges us to contemplate the imposition of external structure on primal instincts, desires and creative life force. Editor: It’s an unsettling, thought-provoking combination. Curator: It asks where authentic self ends and enforced control begins. Do you think the artist might also be exploring themes of control over one's own emotions and behaviours? Editor: Possibly, the tension makes it hard to look away. I hadn't considered the Ouroboros symbolism before. That opens up a whole new layer of interpretation. Curator: Exactly! Images gain layers of resonance across time and culture. I think this work resonates precisely because of its artful deployment of complex symbols within the context of a realistic and simple setup.