Apeman, 1995

Plaster, acrylic paint – 290 × 190 × 230 mm

Apeman is a painted plaster head that, through its grotesque expression – a puckered mouth and exaggerated, simian features – occupies the liminal space between the human face and our animal origins. The work evokes the evolutionary memory of Homo sapiens: the stratum that modern humanity attempts to leave behind through culture and self-awareness, yet which resurfaces persistently in our physicality, gestures, and instincts.

The process – modeling in clay, casting in plaster, painting in red and black tones, then applying and partially wiping away a layer of grey – reinforces the symbolic meaning. The raw, instinctive emotions flicker through the grey veil of civilization but are never fully obscured. The yellowish, flesh-colored tones of the neck and nape accentuate the mask-like quality of the face, revealing its latent animal mimicry.

As part of the Tardigrades cycle (1994-1996), this sculpture is a key piece from the artist’s early period. During this time, the artist explored pre-cultural, instinct-driven, archetypal dimensions of the human body. The sculptures, drawings, paintings, and performative installations of the cycle seek the language of the body and the imprints of trauma through the distortions of human form.

Apeman is not merely an anthropological reflection but also an identity experiment: while grotesque, ironic, and playful on the surface, it raises somber and essential questions about the origins of human existence, our instinctual layers, and the masks we wear.