Of The Unknown Creature

In their visual explorations, both Dzikra and Louise still refer to specific figures from the reality, as well as from stories or literary sources. Therefore, we can sometimes recognize the figures. If we recognize them, we can consider them as "creatures." However, the figures embodied in their works are always distorted and/or fragmented; as if something is constantly driving these two artists to depict creatures that are neither whole nor unified. The title of this exhibition stems from the process of "identification." In the mimetic depiction pattern, identification begins with recognizing similarities in form. We can recognize similarities in Dzikra and Louise's works, and sometimes even identify their references; but this recognition always seems "disturbed." There's always something that makes us reconsider or feel differently: is that really the creature I see? What makes it familiar, yet strange? Dzikra and Louise explore different materials: gypsum, clay, metal, ink, pastels, and more. The material aspect is a “path,” a “method,” and a problem in itself. When the two artists compose forms, they also engage with the material. Every creature has a form, every material has a character. The artist transforms the form of the creature through the cultivation of the material. This process is based on the relationship between the artist and the two; for Dzikra and Louise, this relationship is sometimes “demanding.” To observe how Dzikra and Louise relate themselves with materials (and forms) is like witnessing a mutualistic but sometimes “violence” relationship. This exhibition could be a way to rethink the relationship between artist, form, and material. Interpretation and observation are spaces that enable learning and simultaneously undo everything we once believed to be "knowledge." These "unknown" beings come to invite us to re-examine what "consciousness" and "knowledge" are.