AstridMoors

100 x 100 cm
acrylic on canvas
1994

Carel wrote about this work (9-12-24):
"In this work, "Voting" (1994), the artist engages with both the political landscape and the language of urban mapping. At first glance, the piece seems to present an abstract, geometric form-an interplay of colors and layers that evokes the structure of a city grid. The yellow underlayer forms the foundation of the composition, reminiscent of the raw, foundational elements of a city's design-the infrastructure that both defines and confines. Over this, a delicate pink layer is applied, softening the starkness of the yellow, while a touch of lavender introduces a subtle complexity to the work, hinting at the more nuanced decisions within the binary choices of voting.

The painting draws a parallel between the architectural grid of a city and the binary nature of political choices-yes or no, in or out. These seemingly simple choices are represented through the layering of color, each hue building upon the last, suggesting both the simplicity and complexity of decision-making. The map, or grid, is not just a geographic tool but a conceptual one, reflecting the structure of society, where boundaries and decisions are drawn and redrawn.

The yellow layer beneath speaks to the base, the foundational aspect of power and control, while the pink and lavender top layers create an overlay of possibilities and limits, much like the layers of a city's planning or the act of casting a vote. The grid becomes a metaphor for the way we navigate choices, defining our collective space and shaping the outcome of our decisions.

Through the careful use of color and form, the artist invites the viewer to reflect on the ways in which we map our cities and our societies, highlighting the tension between order
and disorder simplicity and complexity. The work is not just a map -it's a representation of the binary logic inherent in the act of voting, where each decision creates a new boundary, a new possibility, and a new understanding of the space we inhabit."