Karlo Ris

My work before and after the start of the pandemic was centered around psychology, a theme that has become more important in our everyday lives.

My story is in audio form but I will be providing a transcript here for clarity. My story begins on Friday, March the 13th 2020, it was announced that the Academy will be closing due to CoViD and that we are to gather supplies we need to continue our work from home for two weeks. Most of us took only projects we were working on at the time and left our finished work in the Academy, presuming they would be safe. Everything was left as it was, paintings on walls and sculptures on pedestals. A week later, Zagreb was hit by the worst earthquake since 1880. A vast portion of the old city center was affected, buildings were left abandoned as they were no longer inhabitable, others out of fear of another earthquake.

A lot of people left Zagreb in search of safety. The Academy was affected as well and with it a large number of student artworks damaged or destroyed. Among these was my work “Pilgrimage” which represented the descent into depression. It was meant to remind us not to let life hollow our soul and waver our spirit. The only figure in the composition that was not destroyed is the kneeling one. When I came to the Academy for the first time after the earthquake, I entered the hallway and saw this figure above the pieces of its fallen brethren. It was almost as if the sculpture was weeping. In a way, the earthquake finished the artwork.

Living in Zagreb after this has been marked by fear of another earthquake and by the panic caused by the pandemic.

It’s a very specific situation we found ourselves in, where we are in danger of catching the virus if we go outside and we are also in danger if another major earthquake hits. A lot of people are dealing with untreated PTSD caused by numerous earthquakes, as well as depression and anxiety caused by isolation and fear of the virus.

This has inspired me to create a series of works which deal with these subjects and the way they affect our perception of ourselves. One of these is a sculpture named “Shell”, a ceramic self-portrait resembling a mask that represents the personality we exhibit in our social interactions. Once we were forced into lockdown, many people became faced with emotions which they haven’t addressed in years or decades, a lot of them pertaining to the subject of our identity. This in turn caused the “shells” we wore to fall off and reveal peoples true character.

Further meditating on the subject of identity and personality, I created another ceramic sculpture named “Personality traits”. It is a smooth, stylized bust with only the auxiliary lines used for drawing portraits emphasized and perforated, revealing the hollow inside of the sculpture and, metaphorically the emptiness of ones personality. I continue to develop works of art centered around psychology as it has become a central concern during this trying period. My masters work, created during 2020. and 2021., further delves into the spectrum of emotions which have defined the pandemic.

My story is in audio form
Karlo Ris

The work represented the descent into depression. It was meant to remind us not to let life hollow our soul and waver our spirit. Two of the three figures were destroyed in the earthquake. The only figure in the composition that was not destroyed is the kneeling one. When I came to the Academy for the first time after the earthquake, I entered the hallway and saw this figure above the pieces of its fallen brethren. It was almost as if the sculpture was weeping. In a way, the earthquake finished the artwork.