WHAT WE KNOW

Inspired by the famous Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung, HK-based British contemporary artist Stephen Thorpe presents his interpretations of the dualities of the human mind. Finding inspiration from psychoanalysis, sociology, folklore, and mythology, Thorpe’s paintings bring the viewer into a territory between reality and dream – an abstract dimension.

WHY WE LOVE IT

Thorpe’s paintings pop. They create the optical illusion that you have reached the corner of a room, when in reality, you are simply standing in front of a flat canvas. The audience is able to examine each painting for a prolonged period of time, and – through the complex patterns and eccentric objects – kindle a personal, subconscious memory. Each painting is an invitation to an introspective journey.

Not only is this Stephen Thorpe’s 1^st exhibition at Ora-Ora, but all works featured were created in quarantine. COVID-19 adds an extra layer to Thorpe’s artistic endeavours – a ‘collective unconscious’, or a shared human experience amongst us all. We often feel as if we live in the ‘in-between’ that Thorpe depicts through his work, between the inside and outside, our home and the world, the unconscious and the subconscious.