The painting was inspired by J. G. Ballard’s “The Crystal World,” a dystopian science fiction novel that describes an apocalyptic scenario, at least for the world as we know it. Apocalypse is probably the wrong word; it is more of a change in life as we know it.
Somewhere in Africa, plants, animals, and then humans begin to crystallize. The transformation does not seem to end life, but rather to slow it down infinitely. It is like a kind of intermediate world, between life, death, and another life: a different form of life. Those individuals who are already transforming into crystalline form seem to accept this, not being frightened, but continuing to live in a different, infinitely slower time. Dystopian and fascinating at the same time. What began in one area eventually spreads across the entire world, giving rise to something new.
If you look closely at the picture, you can see not only crystallized plants, but also other life forms.
2026, acrylic, black colored pencil, 70 x 50 cm