Desiderium
In his 1935 essay, The Conquest of the Irrational, Salvador Dali referred to his artistic process as the "paranoiac-critical method," which he described as a "spontaneous method of irrational understanding based upon the interpretative critical association of delirious phenomena." Dali believed he could access the deepest recesses of his subconscious mind and explore the irrational and fantastical aspects of reality. His paintings were windows into his inner world, where dreams, fears, and desires intersected with external stimuli. By allowing his thoughts and emotions to flow freely without logic or reason, he could embrace the irrationality of the unconscious mind to transcend the limitations of rational thought—welcoming the unexpected imagery through the psychological phenomena of pareidolia.
With an echo of familiarity, Jason Cordero's Desiderium materialises from the depths of his subconscious. Landscapes transcend geographical boundaries and turn inwards. His archetypal motifs—mountains soaring towards the heavens, trees reaching for the sky, clouds captured in a rush of deepening hues—become a dreamscape that transcends space and time. He quests for a "Golden Age," a mythical epoch imbued with the promise of fulfilment and transcendence. Yet, this utopian horizon remains beyond his reach; a fleeting attempt to capture the ineffable essence of longing itself.
It is a longing not just for tangible landscapes, but for mythic realms and narratives steeped in ancient lore. Drawing inspiration from Greek mythology, Egyptian mysticism, and Mediterranean antiquity, his anthropomorphic scenes become a conduit for timeless narratives, where sweeping branches reach out like the disembodied limbs of dryads, and mountains echo the power of ancient deities like the Pagan mother.
Cordero eschews photographic reference, opting for intuitive formation and instinctive expression. Despite an existing fascination with inhospitable landforms and harsh outcrops, he nonetheless begins to evoke softer vistas; perhaps reminiscent of Australian terrain. The paintings evolve organically through his assessment and response to the image as it emerges. At the inception of a work, what is being created is far from certain—by abandoning predetermined structure, the composition and palette resolves itself as the work develops.
Axes are ambiguous, and diptychs hang interchangeably. Each orientation denies the other, leaving us suspended in a state of perpetual anticipation—a paradox of incompleteness. It is a collective yearning for something we know is tangible. We long for a conclusion that exists just beyond our reach, and yet we remain and ponder, as if the impossible answer might just eventually reveal itself to us.
Anthea Mentzalis
May, 2024
Nanda\Hobbs 2024
The Pillars of Janus
Diptych configuration I, 183x244cm, oil on linen, 2024
The Pillars of Janus
Diptych configuration II, 183x244cm, oil on linen, 2024
The Garden of Mnemosyne
Diptych configuration I, 183x244cm, oil on linen, 2023
The Garden of Mnemosyne
Diptych configuration II, 183x244cm, oil on linen, 2023
The Ouroboros' Longing
Diptych configuration I, 183x244cm, oil on linen, 2023
The Ouroboros' Longing
Diptych configuration II, 183x244cm, oil on linen, 2023
The Age of Longing
122x183 cm, oil on linen, 2023
The Refugium
122x183cm, oil on linen, 2024
The Waters Knew the Way
122x183cm, oil in linen, 2024
The Wanderer Pursued
122x152cm, oil on linen, 2024
There Was But One
122x152cm, oil on linen, 2024
As We Drew Closer
122x183cm, oil on linen, 2024
The Silent Conversation
[122x183cm, oil on linen, 2024]
As Erebus Eavesdropped
[122x183cm, oil on linen, 2023]
A Singular Coincidence
[40x40cm, oil on aluminium panel, 2024]
On Second Sight
[40x40cm, oil on aluminium panel, 2024]
The One Who Is Always There
Diptych configuration I, 40x80cm, oil on aluminium panel, 2024
The One Who Is Always There
Diptych configuration II, 40x80cm, oil on aluminium panel, 2024
Each Bore The Other's Weight
30x40cm, oil on aluminium panel, 2024
The Island That Never Was
30x40cm, oil on aluminium panel, 2024
No Matter the Approach
40x40cm, oil on aluminium panel, 2024
The Garden Whose Name Is Not Known
40x30cm, oil on aluminium panel, 2024
When the Sun Sets in the East
30x40cm, oil on aluminium panel, 2024
On Arriving it was Time to Depart
30x40cm, oil on aluminium panel, 2024