Pareidolia
Vesna Jovanovic
Chicago, Illinois
Artist's statement
I began working on the Pareidolia series in 2002 as part of my interest in exploring the relationship between chance and order. After randomly spilling some ink on paper, I looked at the shapes and saw objects that I associate with science: test tubes, flasks, and other laboratory equipment. The randomness of spilled ink combined with the control of intricate drawing exemplifies my approach to art and science. In art as in science, there is a constant struggle to leave some things to chance.
When I returned to this creative method in 2006 (after several years of working mostly within photography), I noticed that with each drawing my test tubes began to look more and more organic – they now resemble veins, branches, intestines, roots and neurons. This shift was not fully realized until Temporal Nexus, in which a central knot ties various organs together. Ultimately this body of work alludes to the confusing mixture of curiosity, fear, awe, and mystery that surround the concepts of illness, research, and scientific progress. The drawings are at the same time enticing and repulsive; they are detailed and graceful, yet chaotic and unpredictable.
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