WORKING WITH GOLD: ‚HOC EST QUOD CUPIO‘ (2019)

Those who followed my stories on Instagram (@thomassing_) could watch my latest (and by far the largest) Contemplation work unfold since Christmas. After doing a small sketch in November, I made a couple of 50 x 60 cm (20 x 24 inch) silvergelatine prints in December of some photographs which I want to use for my Contemplations.

This one is insofar special as all the writing and aureole are made of 24 carat gold, in a technique that was already used in medieval book illustration. I’m quite proud I could complete this work without any errors or unexpected incidents – if you’re working with gold on paper there’s not really much you can do to fix anything…

That’s also why I usually retire to my Italian hideaway to accomplish these large and complex works which need extreme concentration and long periods of working without interruptions.

Above are some photos of the final work (which just needs to be framed once I’m back in Germany). I received a lot of feedback from you on my stories the last days from which I realized that the actual process is something you all seem to be very interested in, so you may want to follow my Instagram account (@thomassing_ and @disciplineandobsession) for more work-in-progress and inspirations.

The text I used is the Latin „Legenda“ describing the life of Agnes of Bohemia (a.k.a. Agnes of Prague, 1211 – 1282), written by an anonymous Franciscan in the 14th century. It’s the first time I’m using a classical hagiography of a female mystic, for the reason that there are just way too many important and interesting female mystics in history who never wrote a line themselves but whose stories were written down by their contemporaries or spiritual descendants. Their legacies feel too important to be neglected.

‚hoc est quod cupio‘ (2019), 24k Gold on silver gelatin print, ca. 39×57 cm / 15.4×22.4 inch; framed 60×80 cm / 24×31.5 inch.