The Empty Gaze Into Nothingness

The Empty Gaze Into Nothingness

The work is a self portrait of the artist in her younger years. At the center, we see the upper body of a woman staring directly at the viewer with an expressionless, empty gaze. The depiction is not a realistic representation: the figure has bright neongreen hair and eyebrows and a violet iris. Her gaze seems directed into the distance, conveying a sense of inner emptiness or detachment.
The multiple framing is an important part of the work. The abstract background and neonorange form frame the figure on the first level. This painted section is surrounded by shimmering green paper with a snake pattern, which is mounted on a passepartout and enclosed by a thin black frame. The different layers create the impression that the figure is surrounded or even enclosed by several layers, further emphasizing her sense of distance and inaccessibility.
Watercolors were used for the face, while the body and background were created with acrylic and UV paints. Glossy paper and Edding were also incorporated. Under blacklight, elements such as the figure’s eyes, hair and skin, as well as the abstract orange halo, begin to glow. This gives the selfportrait an additional, almost mystical quality. The snake pattern further enhances this effect: the snake can symbolize something mysterious, seductive or unsettling, but also transformation and renewal, as it sheds its skin. Together with the glowing colors, it creates an almost magical, somewhat witchlike atmosphere that is simultaneously eerie and unsettling.
The work explores the feeling of being physically present while feeling internally distant or unreachable. The unnatural colors and lack of realistic representation suggest that the focus is less on the artist’s outward appearance and more on an inner state. The selfportrait therefore does not only show what the artist looks like, but rather how she felt and how she perceived her own identity at that time.
Probably we all know this feeling of not being fully present, of withdrawing into ourselves, feeling depressed or trapped within our own skin. But where are we in those moments? Perhaps, in being disconnected from the world around us, we are connected to something deeper (maybe to our higher selves?).

Details

• Artist: Milena Sündermann
• Title:The Empty Gaze Into Nothingness
• Year: 2019
• Medium: Mixed media on paper, framed
• Dimensions: 31 x 41 cm
• Original artwork 
• Signed on backside