Conscious

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CONSCIOUS

"Conscious" is one of three works delving into our inner psyche, completing Freud's trilogy. It reflects the conscious aspect of our mind, where perception of the sensory world occurs. It's responsible for logical processes, planning, and development of defensive strategies, preventing deviant behavior. It's the seat of evolved thought, giving rise to guilt and morality. A place of light contrasting with the shadow of the unconscious, yet still subordinate to its presence and indirect action. As the master said, man is a neurotic animal, whose existential condition is marked by the persistent conflict between innate tendencies and societal expectations instilled through education."

The artwork is constructed symmetrically, with the left side depicting the subtle and shapeless world of the unconscious exerting influence on the conscious material, mirrored on the right side. The unconscious is portrayed as an unreal dimension, devoid of the intuitive-sensible forms of temporality and spatiality, shapeless and fluid, containing images, unpleasant memories, and unacceptable impulses, prevented from emerging to harm the subject's reason. The absence of form and the dynamism of unconscious content are depicted using swirling circular figures painted with a wide range of contrasting colors, from cool blues to warmer red-orange tones, conveying a sense of interference and tension between them. Slight distortion effects reinforce the idea of intense motion within the instance. In contrast to the unconscious part, the conscious is depicted calmly and composedly, where the dynamism and high frequency of chaos and motion give way to absolute stillness and formality. The colors are monochromatic, and in the background, there are no swirling circular lines, but a clear sky with white clouds representing the clarity and brilliance of elevated thought. The head at the center represents man in his universal condition, torn between two tendencies, one destructive and the other life-bearing.

Link to the artwork:

https://www.irevals.com/gallery/conscious-ky966-cjlyc

The other two the complete the Trilogy