Censorship and the Imposition of Form

Censorship and the Imposition of Form, 1997, Oil On Canvas

Painter: Ham
From: Poly-morph series.

Censorship and the Imposition of Form like the other paintings from the polymorph series is constructed from repeating shapes. The characters and the environment are largely created from fruit shapes.

Using  circles, rectangles, squares and triangles is more than enough to create an interesting composition. The cherry present joining the main characters in the foreground is then repeated across the center of the painting in the shape of the mountains.  The cherry is comparatvely sublime in the back ground compared to its foreground counterpart, still it looks like a cherry nontheless, however if the painting was painted without the cherry in the foreground would one notice the cherries as mountains at all?  The association between the shapes and their analogous form is the essence of the painting, as if, it is two things at once. In short, the cherry shape of the mountains echo the foreground image, repeating it and hinting at a metaphor with both shapes remaining to be their own things and yet they are so similar in shape they appear similar. Alternatively, they invite the realisation that we may think the imposition of the triangular form in the foreground is analogous to the repeating trianguar forms present in the background.  Similar forms and shapes allow us to realize similarity and metaphor or analogy come to mind, but distinguish their difference and reveal details present in one form compared to the other and then to make sense of the image we must censor one thing as not being the other. Thus censorship and the imposition of form is realized as a distinguishing function of thought.

French author Pierre Bourdieu wrote two books that inspired this painting they are 'The Feild of Cultural Production' and 'The Rules of Art'.