The potential of change – About Sophie-Luise Passow

        In her transdisciplinary artistic practice, Viennese artist Sophie-Luise Passow deals with the constant transformation of complex systems, be they social structures, psychological processes, or biological organisms. The artist uses geometric forms in an abstract way as a reference to these very conditions, opening new perspectives for the viewer. Characterized by the interactions between the obvious and the hidden as well as the conscious and the unconscious, the large-format paintings depict symbolic patterns reminiscent of richly decorated tapestries from the collection of textiles and carpets at the Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna (MAK).
        Certain questions that have been buzzing around in her head for a long time find their way into art. The first step is research, followed by sketchy preliminary drawings and thoughts before the ideas are transferred to the canvas. Passow takes up references to well-known signs, shapes, lines, circles and crosses, Ys, Xs, questioning not only their “true” existence or origin, but also their cultural-historical or biological, scientific context and history. She is concerned with the codes of life, how organic life is constructed, composed, and transformed. Based on theoretical concepts, she creates repetitive structures to open new perspectives. In the truest sense of the word, she thus works through the themes posed and, through the repetition of images, creates repetitive patterns that make connections visible.
        Working mainly on the floor and with her hands, the artist assembles her ideas into a large whole. She often starts with pigments (pastel) on the canvas at the top left and works her way down to the bottom right – like a page of an exercise book to be written. This textual weaving is merged with the layer of colors by means of expressive wiping and physical contact on the surface, only to then blur into one another. The composition of the picture is characterized by abstract forms and strong color dynamics, whereby the detailed elements are connected by clear lines. The works deal with various social phenomena and existing social norms, not only formally but also in terms of content. Just like these, the paintings also consist of smaller units that are put together to form a large whole but can also be blurred at any time. The logic of productive repetition is transferred here to the social level, thus propagating its openness.
        Art has accompanied Passow her whole life. The urge to express herself artistically and the interest in contemporary art intensified in her teenage years when she was struggling with mental challenges. During this time, she used the camera as an instrument and made diary- like self-portraits to reflect on her inner self and its conflicts. Her intention was to capture the fleeting, physically manifest articulations of these psychological processes and thus yield an image of her inner self. An art-historical point of reference can be identified here with the annual portraits of Friedl Kubelka, who has been taking self-portraits every day from 1972 on and repeated this process every five years. To this end, Kubelka photographs herself, no matter where, at home or while traveling, at the window, in bed, at work, in public, in private… The question “What is going on inside me?” is thus turned over to the medium of the image, the subjective projected onto an external surface and (re)produced.
        By combining science and art in the current series Organism, Passow captures the zeitgeist by addressing the interplay between the inside and outside as well as the depth and complexity of existence. Change, adaptability and movement characterize the smallest living beings, which reproduce themselves and create new organisms. In this way, the artist links these characteristics visually and deals with the complex processes that make life possible in the first place. At this point, an art-historical reference can be made to the paintings of Gunter Damisch, who dealt with organisms in an expressive-abstract manner and with a powerful
force of color, creating a world of his own.
        Passow’s large-format canvases are multi-layered and constructed on different levels, with organic areas of color interlocking with budding shoots above them. Finally, these are both related and organized by black lines. Systems or structures are formed that condense above all in the lower image scene, delimiting themselves from one another, f.e. articulating an exterior to them, but at the same time establishing a connection with it. One could also see it in such a way that the creative unconscious lies at the bottom and an organized consciousness lies above it; the adaptive structure is only possible through the interplay of the two. In a sense, a double translation takes place in this complex system: on the one hand, the translation of one’s own desires into reality, f.e. in relation to the worldly position (reality principle), and on the other hand, the claims of the world in relation to one’s own desires (consciousness as a gateway to the world). The unconsciously expressive play of colors represents the emotional as well as the path into the interior. The consciously placed symbols and line combinations embody the rational and the external. In a playful and colorful way, Passow addresses two features of the organic.
        There are relationships between the various elements, as well as with the overarching system and the environment. The focus is on exploring, examining, reflecting, and rethinking these relationships. The canvas not only acts as a support material but also becomes an object through its presentation and hanging without a frame. The partially frayed corners and sides refer to tapestries, one of the oldest handicrafts, which also had didactic functions and thus once again thematize the role of tradition or the existing and its mediation. The aim here is no longer to take the viewer by the hand and explicate a fixed meaning of what they see, but instead to encourage them to see the fraying of the picture’s edges as a component, to perceive the fragility of the tried and tested and the existing themselves and to give free rein to their associations behind the mirrors.