Aurum Naturae

Solo exhibition (2022)
Clarion Hotel Post, Gothenburg, Sweden

This early series explores the tension between organic form and inorganic structure - between the bark of a tree and the rigidity of ornament. Each tree trunk emerges from a gilded grid, referencing Japanese screen paintings. The influence is visual rather than conceptual, reflecting a long-standing aesthetic fascination.

It was during this series that I began treating watercolor as a material system - studying pigment behavior through the lens of chemistry and physics. I worked deliberately with granulation, allowing pigments to resist the brush and form uncanny bark textures. From a distance, the trees appear naturalistic; up close, they fragment into sedimented surfaces.

Underlying the work is a deep fascination with trees - their individuality, stillness, and role in the world. While the series was meant to be a collection of tree portraits, it does not depict them faithfully. Instead, these paintings stage encounters between surface, matter, and form. They mark the beginning of an ongoing inquiry into how non-human presence can be approached through material processes, rather than through translation.