The mindset of a truth-teller

Hellstern's work for the exhibition consists of four canvases hanging from the ceiling in a square. The viewer is invited to move around the four works like the Trojans moved curiously around the horse. Green, red, orange and blue form the backdrop for escape, struggle, courage and frustration; four states of mind of Cassandra. There are both arms and legs in motion, and arms and legs going nowhere. A clenched hand sticks out victoriously and up into the sky, while another hand points out towards the future surrounded by blood-red hands and feet. The two skeletons are unidentifiable, a kind of universal human figures that could be you and me. At the same time, the violet figure holds a Ruta Graveolens in the hand, which is said to be able to give psychic abilities, while at the feet of the skeleton, poisonous fungi grow side by side with the symbol of the purity of the mind; the steadfast lotus that has sprouted up through the mud. But Cassandra is also portrayed furiously and in rapid motion, despite a missing leg. There is fire in her hair and sparks spew from her hair splendor, but the heart beats intact while a carnivorous plant is in right on her heels.

Text by art historian Natalia Gutman

Photos by Rine Rodin