Eigengrau
2020
Spray Paint and Plaster on Foam; Wire, Stepstool
3’ x 3’ x 4’
When we shut our eyes to sleep at night, we see “eigengrau,” a German word signifying the “intrinsic grey" of this vision. Faced with sensory deprivation, our visual system prioritizes contrast over correct color perception. It is out of this condition that our best ideas emerge and our dreams condensate, from a subtly swirling peripheral space of phosphenes and subconscious flotsam.
I started with the idea of building a curved, black painting, but realized that I wanted to have viewers experience the phenomenon of my work rather than convey it indirectly. The egg form, filling the observer’s periphery, is meant to elicit eigengrau upon entering with closed eyes.
Eigengrau serves as a springboard of uncertainty in preceding my other work, a metaphor for the procession of something from nothing.
