The Ego The Persona PR

CURRENT PAST ARTISTS FAIRS PUBLICATIONS GALLERY NEW WORKS

PRESS RELEASE

THE EGO, THE PERSONA, THE SHADOW AND THE OLD MAN (OR WAS IT THE GREAT MOTHER?)

RACHANA NAGARKAR, RAKHI PESWANI, JAISHRI ABICHANDANI,

ZACHARY CLEMENT, CHRISTINE KIM AND BETTY BEE

NOVEMBER 20 2008 - DECEMBER 20 2008

The individuation process is a term created by the famous psychologist Carl Gustav Jung to describe the process of becoming

aware of oneself, of one’s make-up, and the way to discover one’s true, inner self. Although the structure is basic and simple,

the contents require a much deeper understanding.

The process begins with becoming conscious of the Persona, the mask we take on in our every day life. After this we become

conscious of the Shadow, the repressed characteristics of the ego. Then we become conscious of the Anima, the inner woman

in each man, or the Animus, the inner man in each woman. Then the image of the old wise man, or the old wise mother appears,

after which the experience of the Self happens. These phases are not necessarily chronological in order or separated from each

other. They can overlap each other or run parallel.

Jung stresses that our modern world does not give enough opportunity to experience the archetype of the Shadow. When a

child expresses his animal instincts, generally his parents punish him. Punishment does not lead to the extinction of the Shadow,

which is impossible, but it leads to the suppression of this archetype. The Shadow retreats to an unconscious state, primitive and

undifferentiated. Then, when the Shadow breaks through the repressive barrier, and this does happen once in a while, it manifests

itself in a sinister, pathological way.

It is a fact that artists, through their practice, have often helped themselves, and those around them, to identify and, quite literally,

bring to surface the “archetypes” that Jung identifies in his theory. In this exhibition, while we certainly do not pretend to exemplify

the complexity of Jung’s writings, we are bringing together a group of six artists we feel embody in their own unique and special way

some of these archetypes and the struggle between their “persona” and the “shadow” within them. Through their works, they accept,

and bring together, the superior and the inferior, the rational and the irrational, the order and the chaos, light and darkness, female and

male energy, yin and yang.

The exhibition features works by Jaishri Abichandani, Betty Bee, Zachary Clement, Christine Kim, Rachana Nagarkar, and Rakhi Peswani.