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Human Surrealism

I’m becoming fascinated by surrealism, particularly by portraying people through a surrealist lens in a way that captures them.

There are aspects of this that start to wander into psychological surrealism: the feeling that something isn’t quite right with your embodied experience.

Francis Bacon, Self Portraits

Francis Bacon self-portrait: a distorted face in pink, blue and cream against a dark background.Francis Bacon self-portrait: a seated figure leaning on a basin, with a reflection behind him.

These paintings really started to get me into art. I saw the first of these at auction and was entirely taken aback by it. Mostly, I remember being struck by how strange it would be to view oneself in this way. What would you have to think of yourself for this to be your self-portrait? And how would I represent myself through visual art?

In some ways, their abruptness reminds me of this Dora Jar song.

Lagoon — Dora Jar on Spotify ↗

Adrian Ghenie, Self-Portrait with Picassoesque Background

Adrian Ghenie’s self-portrait, with a distorted face in red, white and turquoise against an angular pink and dark background.

My fascination with Bacon’s self-portraits led me to Adrian Ghenie’s. This one is hard to describe. It sounds like this:

Stars — Do Nothing on Spotify ↗

Adrian Ghenie, Various

Adrian Ghenie’s Elvis: a pale face with closed eyes and an open mouth, obscured by scraped pink, blue and dark paint.Adrian Ghenie portrait with facial features blurred into pink, black and blue brushstrokes above a pale shirt.Adrian Ghenie portrait of a blond figure whose face is obscured by scraped layers of yellow, brown and turquoise paint, displayed on a gallery wall.Expressive painted portrait of a head tilted back with teeth showing, built from thick yellow, pink, cream and dark brushstrokes against a coral and turquoise background.

I started getting more into psychological surrealism from here. These paintings are very distinct but, to my eyes, quite disturbing. There is something quite unsettling about this portrayal of the human face. I think they all evoke this feeling:

Adrian Ghenie painting of a figure in a patterned dress standing in a fragmented interior with a lamp, cabinet and painting behind them.

I can’t think of a good sound for this off the top of my head. Perhaps something in the shape of this Luke Slott piece, but with more complex instrumentation? Not really, though. I think this piece captures the ‘controlled unease’ of it all.

Ornaments — Luke Slott on Spotify ↗

Francis Bacon, Head Series (1948–1949)

Francis Bacon’s Head I: a distorted head with an open mouth and pale collar against a dark background crossed by white lines.
Head I
Francis Bacon’s Head II: a dark contorted head tilted upward, with an open mouth and pale collar against textured grey curtains.
Head II
Francis Bacon’s Head III: a grey head and shoulders with an upturned face fragmented by vertical brushstrokes against a grey and ochre background.
Head III
Francis Bacon’s Head IV: a man in a dark suit seen from behind, facing a dark monkey-like head against vertical grey and ochre bands.
Head IV
Francis Bacon’s Head V: a blurred pale face and dark upper body emerging through grey vertical bands.
Head V
Francis Bacon’s Head VI: a screaming figure in purple papal robes behind dark vertical streaks and a fine white cage-like outline.
Head VI

Next up is Francis Bacon’s Head series, painted in 1948–1949 and exhibited together in 1949. It ends with Head VI, a painting of a screaming pope inspired by Velázquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X.

I immediately thought of Head VI for this playlist and didn’t realise at first that it was part of a larger series. To me, it captures the same feeling of impending doom as the screaming woman in the last Ghenie painting on this list, Pie Fight Interior 8 (2012).

Turandot, Act I: Popolo di Pekino! — Giacomo Puccini on Spotify ↗

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