This is the first work in a small series titled Stone Conversations. Loquor Ergo Sum is a variation of Descartes's famous “I think, therefore I am” and means “I speak, therefore I am”. Even if thinking is within the realm of language, it is not until we actually express our minds that we become subjects in a true sense. Only when language is shaped by matter does it become real. Suffice to recall that however clear a thought seems to us in our minds, we always encounter some difficulties when we attempt to utter it through a medium such as speech, writing or, as in my case, art. Only then can we perceive it ourselves as it is presented to the world. Only then do we see that it does, in fact, not represent what we had in mind. There is always something missing or something superfluous—matter taints language. We, as subjects, are consistently misrepresented to the world - there is always something lacking. Perhaps the title should be “I speak, therefore I am something else”.

See a video of the work in progress here and a video presentation here.

Speaking Stones is a compilation of paintings made with imprints of ordinary stones.

I see the stone as a metaphor for popular struggle and protest. It is the closest available weapon to the powerless. Throwing stones is a symbolic form of violence. The aim is not to overpower the opponent physically. It demonstrates defiance in the face of power by expressing concretely that the premises of the situation aren't acceptable. The stone speaks but not in a language open to negotiation or dialogue. A conversation means accepting the context in which it takes place and is thus always, to a certain degree, a form of submission. The language of stones is the language of mute matter. A form of silence that nevertheless speaks clearly and directly. The stone represents the resistance in itself from a place outside of language.

The stone is an entirely exchangeable and ordinary object that exists everywhere. At the same time, each stone is unique and has its own beauty and unfathomable mystery for anyone open to seeing it. This duality fascinates me. A stone is perhaps the closest we can get to a thing-in-itself, bound as we are to language. It is sealed around itself, oblivious to the outside world. It simply exists. In a way, we can never truly understand. It is infinite in its everydayness, specific and concrete in its presence.

Res Ipsa is a compilation of works made by an act shaping the filler once it is prepared inside the frame. The works thus function as a recording device and give a statement of the event taking place while the filler was still wet.

Res Ipsa is Latin for "the thing itself" and is part of the juridical term "Res ipsa loquitur" (the thing speaks for itself), used when an injury or accident in itself clearly shows who is responsible, such as an instrument left inside a body after surgery.