The subjects in the work of Marcel Swint come from the past, lost buildings, carriages, (tomb) ornaments and exotic plants such as those were previously collected and exhibited. Sent picture postcards and cabinet photographs from the 19th and early 20th century serve as a source for his paintings. Swint is interested in issues of which only indications remain and which balance on the edge of presence and absence. The tangible object has disappeared, but otherwise still present. Holes, shadows and silhouettes are examples of these “absences” but also painting is often located at the same intersection. A painting which functions as a window is an object, but suggests space and thus creates a similar conflict in presence and absence.
These fascinations are translated in his working methode. Swint works with transparent paint from which he wipes away the subjects. In this way the subjects appear through eachother as projections and evoke associations such as memories and specters. The layers of paint function as shadows while the subjects are visible but actually absent.
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| An Object of Absence, 2012, 39 x 30 cm. |
