The theme for THE SUSSEX 2024 is Duality.

Jo explains why she chose the theme, and how it can be interpreted and used to inspire your entries.

When I start to think about a subject, theme or title I like to use literature as a starting point. I start by researching what the word itself means:

DUALITY

1.      the quality or condition of being duel “This duality of purpose was discernible in the appointments”.

2.      an instance of oppositions or contrast between two aspects of something, a dualism “his photographs capitalize on the dualities of light and dark, stillness and movement”.

An idea, observation, or opinion is shown through an artwork that is shared with and communicated to others.

It is in this dualism, the convergence of artistic intention with the physical building blocks of visual art that entices the observer to ponder the artwork and why it exists. Drawing them in a rich tapestry of stories, thoughts, and emotions and communicating with them directly.

Next time you are at a museum or an exhibition look at the other people around you. Look at those that are caught in front of an artwork for a length of time. They are considering, looking, questioning, admiring, and thinking about what is in front of them.

Duality explores the positive and negative spaces in life, between lines and lived-in experiences.

Duality in literature itself is probably one of the most popular themes, quite often explained through the characters, their imaginations and the situations they experience.

Authors use duality to illustrate a compelling story that captures the reader broaching many. As with the dual nature of every story, the simple and complex decisions define its vantage point.

In Victorian literature, there is an explosion of exploration and practice of the idea of duality. One well-known book that delves into this duality idea is The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert L. Stevenson. The book and the two personas within are a social commentary on the duality of British society at the time it was written.

ASTHETIC DUALISM The non-dual interconnected nature of aesthetic judgment...What the heck does that mean?

The philosopher Descartes explains this well, he was the, late great thinker to spark this particular philosophy.

Think of the mind being a non-physical entity, it's the seat of all of our consciousness and self-awareness. It's where our thoughts, feelings, and perceptions live. It's what lets us think about artworks and wonder what they mean.

Next, you have the body.

In Descartes' view, the body is a physical entity, it's the machine that carries out actions in the physical world. It lets us move, touch, and interact with our environment. It enables us to experience the aesthetics of an environment or painting.

Descartes believed that the mind and body interacted through the pineal gland, a tiny gland in the brain. He thought this gland was the "principal seat of the soul" the place where the mind and body connected.

So, in a nutshell, Descartes' Dualism is the idea that the mind and body are two distinct entities that interact to create the human experience.

A reliance on the belief in independent properties can be applied in the artistic creation of works. Exploring what it is within objects makes them beautiful or grotesque so that you can provide a judgment or provoke thought on the subject matter.

The mind, or the soul, is comprised of a non-physical substance, while the body is constituted of the physical substance known as matter. According to most substance dualists, mind and body can affect each other, this is called interactionism. Next time you are captivated by an artwork, think of what your eyes see but also where does the artwork take your mind?

Dualism is present in art, it is the thought-provoking fact that artworks are physical objects that appear to our visual senses, something that tells a story that appeals to our minds. The story isn’t physical, and we cannot see it, only sense it inside the cognitive depths of conscious, subconscious, and imagination.

THE TWO FRIDAS (1939)

Let’s look at duality and surrealism in Frida Kahlo’s, famous portrait.

This work encompasses many threads that run through her entire oeuvre. Mexican identity, female experience, and her personal history.

Frida mixes fantasy and symbolism with realist detailing. This is an enigmatic composition with enduring significance. Using her body as a metaphor Frida explores gender, depicting herself with facial hair, and the presence of blood touches upon mortality and female fertility. Looking closer at the work it illustrates a literal split between her two selves.

Frida painted this after returning from Paris where she had been exhibiting her work and had just divorced Diego Rivera. The serene clouds and placid look on the two faces are juxtaposed with the graphic medical imagery. It’s a great example of duality.

SUMMARY

Duality is a subjective way of looking at balance and the lack of thereof existing in dualities.

Think of love and hate, peace and violence, life and death, black and white, courageousness and complicity, visibility and the invisible.

As with the dual nature of every story and the simple and complex decisions that define its vantage point. Works of art can take in internal and external look at life.

Both Jason and I can’t wait to see how you interpret this year’s theme, best of luck in your creations.

JO x