Schizophrenia 2019

Editor: We're looking at Sami Gattoufi's "Schizophrenia" from 2019, an oil painting with noticeable impasto. It feels deeply unsettling to me. The face is... unfinished, fragmented almost. What strikes you about the composition of this work? Curator: Immediately, the application of the paint itself draws the eye. The thickness and texture achieved through impasto are significant. Note the contrast between the smoother, almost porcelain-like rendering of the visible part of the face and the rough, seemingly incomplete areas. How does this dichotomy function formally? Editor: It almost creates a sense of a mask, or maybe a layered reality? Is that disconnect between the styles supposed to mirror the disconnect someone experiencing Schizophrenia might feel? Curator: Precisely. The formal elements serve to externalize internal states. Consider the portrait format itself, traditionally associated with presenting a unified identity. Gattoufi disrupts this expectation. Look closely at how light and shadow interact within these contrasting textures. Do you observe a pattern? Editor: Well, the smoother, more 'complete' area catches the light, making it seem almost… stable. But the rougher textures, the unfinished part, they retreat into the shadows. The work is really relying on these contrasting qualities, texture and light. Curator: Indeed. One can see that in the planes constructed from contrasting colours and shadow as well. And what kind of emotion that incites within the viewers? Editor: It is certainly an emotive expression with these fragmented surfaces and shadow use. That is definitely an insight that'll stay with me. Curator: And for me it will be remembering to go in-depth to explore beyond representation of any formal elements.