antony clarkson
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Apophenia:
​An Uncanny Presence.
2022-

Picture
Whilst exploring painted spaces via my Personal Topographies series I was constantly aware that the next development in this painted process would be the introduction of abstract presences. Although I have been using the word presence to denote the manifestations in my work, I am now wondering if it is perhaps the best word to use. If the presence in question is always, pseudo human should I be considering the idea of anthropomorphism instead? Or perhaps in more global terms pareidolia? Or more properly apophenia? ​

An Introduction to the Uncanny...

12/23/2022

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Picture

NN (Nomen Nescio): Working title..
​An Uncanny Presence. Oil on canvas

Picture

NN (Nomen Nescio) II: Working title.
​An Uncanny Presence. Oil on canvas.

Picture

NN(Nomen Nescio) III:Working title.
​An Uncanny Presence. Oil on canvas.

As I approach Christmas I am aware that although my output of paintings has continued my blogging has slowed down. So today I want to set the foundations for what is to come in the new year. My current work in the Apophenia Series,  involves a series of what may almost be considered 'abstract portraits'. These are not what may be considered traditional abstractions in that they don't have any particular relationship to an individual. In the same way that my Personal Topographies of 2021 were landscapes of the mind; derived from a lifetime of experiences, these Uncanny Presences find their personalities born from the same fertile roots.
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Are you seeing things? Probably!

12/7/2022

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Picture

NN III, charcoal & chalk tonal study.

Picture

NN IV, charcoal & chalk tonal study.

So apophenia...not  a very well known word I grant you. However I feel it is entirely the most appropriate  word to describe the thought process behind my latest body of work. Via apophenia we see patterns or images where they may not actually exist, we all do it, that face in the clouds or the wonderful boxing octopus that is really a coat hook. Of course these are simple observations, but apophenia can be a symptom of something more serious such as schizophrenia. It can also explain the modern tendency to create and believe in conspiracy theories, seeing a pattern in random events where none exists.

On the whole in this blog I will be looking at how the observer may see patterns in abstract or none- representational  art, but on occasions I will widen the field to consider these other aspects of the apophenia. But for now please take a look at the two tonal studies at the top of this post and see what you think; I'd love to know what you can see in them.
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Back to the blogs... Day 1.

12/2/2022

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Picture

NN (Nomen Nescio):Working title. An Uncanny Presence. Oil on canvas

Picture

NN  II: Working title. An Uncanny Presence. Oil on canvas.

It's now been over a year since I completed the Self- Isolation Residency and it's accompanying blog; it was such a success that I have always my intended to return to blogging about my work , it's just taken a while to develop my ideas to an appropriate place.

My new work, although over the course of the next few weeks you may see some familiar works, explores the notion of what what I am calling an 'uncanny presence'. The ideas is that these abstract paintings might suggest the feeling of something intangible, something not quite there...

This 'suggestion' is caused by Apophenia: the tendency to perceive a connection or meaningful pattern between unrelated or random things (such as objects or ideas).  As hopefully you may feel whilst viewing my latest two pieces at the top of the page. 

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  • CODEX
    • plane >
      • Apophenia: An Uncanny Presence.
      • Control(s)
      • Personal Topographies
      • The Self-Isolation Residency
      • Carved From This Land
      • Photography
      • Spatial Paintings 2006-2008
      • Paintings 2006
    • mass >
      • Upsilon: Second Skin /Second Life.
      • Black Knight
      • Second Skin/Second Life
      • Dancing with Scissors
      • Crow
      • The Blind Men and the Elephant.
      • Spatial Conceptions 2014 - 2022
      • Painted Objects
      • Autograph
      • The Newtonian Nightmare
    • volume >
      • Enso nest
      • Someone else's storey
      • Shower, The Process Residency 2013,
      • Concrete Haiku
      • Atypical
      • The Murder of Crows.
      • Composition in White (Painting), The Breathe Residency:
      • Composition in White (Sculpture), The Breathe Residency:
      • Floorplan
      • Paper Scissors Rock
      • Pilgrimage
      • The Fifth Column
      • Tension
      • Arch
      • Seconds
    • artist statements >
      • Plane Papers >
        • The Apophenia Series: Artist Statement (Abstract Painting) 2025
      • Mass Papers >
        • ​On the Nature of Play. Artist Statement (Mass & Volume) 2021
        • Unlikely but Not Impossible. Artist Statement. 2021
      • Volume Papers >
        • Questions and Paradoxes, Enigmas and Wonders. Artist Statement (General) 2012
    • blogs >
      • The Self-Isolation Residency: Blog 2020-2021
      • Apophenia: An Uncanny Presence. 2022
    • cv & education
    • contact