(2)

The contention created when faced with this argument brought us to the development of our work: Art is for the rich. We are interested in the tension of the controversy arriving at a form in which the criticized and the solution must merge into one.

For us that is the meaning of collaborating - the individual is overestimated - there is an aim to see certain forms of connections more globally. As a solution we propose to dematerialize the work, painting directly on the walls of our studio, only to erase each finished piece by painting over it, we develop statements that are not permanent. This puts the value of the work in progress in question as well as that of the finished product, does its value increase by being ten works hidden underneath the surface or does the invisibility of them make them obsolete?

Our repetitive pattern of generating paintings on self-produced canvas glued on the walls, only to cover the results with a new work in progress, contains a certain form of freedom. It gives allowance to chance, which can be perceived in our stained series.

If ecstasy means to go outside oneself, the word usually carries connotations of chaos and inarticulacy.

The sense of relief which is created, however, is a precise and eloquent ecstasy in which the process of a new production of paintings almost becomes a game.

A moment of tension arises, however, when we present ourselves as a performance duo in the form of animated gifs placed on the Internet, where the production of our work suddenly becomes eternal/timeless. 3,4

(3)

How one has become, biographically speaking, naturally flows into the development of one's artistic work - each individual is compromised according to their personal life history.

Recording our actions to place them on the internet gives the creation of our works as well as the transitional results a new value, in which each step is valued by itself instead of being seen as an intermediate before a final outcome - without looking for individual recognition, we rather seek to show and reinforce the importance of the collaborative process.

The concept of cooperation where collaborating with one another becomes more important than the final product. We talk about collaboration as a general necessity and thereby try to question the individual value of art.

Our works are continuously neglected by being painted over, an action that replaces the importance of each artwork and that of ourselves as artists.

Our aim is to reinforce the notion that there is no space for competitive behavior in our current time, leaving collaboration as the only and necessary option.

Substance

The substance of our message stands for a return to the physical and ecological relationships which derail if they are not observed, not remedied.

It is about observing the effect of what is done, about becoming aware of the consequence of one's own life - simply just by existing - on the ecosystem. Doing so is in itself an elementary experience and a first step to bringing about a form of necessary change.

Diana Kinnert and Marc Bielefeld write that the isolation of this "super-social animal" suggests that living together differently would make everyone, poor and rich, happier.

We hope to draw on sources spanning biology, ecology, art, and sociology to illustrate the seeming paradox of human existence, ultimately reflecting in the art world: that humans act individually and globally at once – that we act both in and on the world around us. 5

Ultimately, our goal is to stress the necessity to not just acknowledge but feel the connection between collaborators, development and physical out-turn.