Carnal

Artist: Fringe 

Title: Carnal

Media: Oil on canvas

Size: 100cm x 100cm 

Authentication certificate included

Energy travels from high temperatures to low. I guess there are plenty of people who know that. And once you find out, it makes complete sense. Think of fire, blazing while it moves to convert and consume everything that’s cooler than itself, standing in its way.

I got a small but vicious electric shock from an eroded three-prong plug, and it’s amazing how the jolt kind of makes one take stock of everything that exists at that moment. It’s such an affront to one’s sense of completeness. At first there’s terrible confusion. As it subsides, one suddenly confronts the possibility of one’s own sudden death. Then you realise, it could have happened to one of the children. Then you thank the universe, for the miracle of electronics — basically for the trip switch.

The energy one feels after an electric shock is like a kind of speed hangover. The heart pumps adrenaline, but a strange exhaustion sets in as one breathes through the aftermath. As creatures, we are not programmed to adjust immediately to shock. Cars can, and I presume lightning even has its benefits. But as humans, we love sustained energy that keeps us hovering above the relentlessness of gravity.

Shock value may have a place in the popular culture, but when you catch your finger in a plug, as an artist you start to consider living off grid and painting old fashioned landscapes.