Original artwork description:

In a world inclined to conjecture, Hong Kong-based Sri Lankan portrait artist Kos Cos
offers a thought-provoking new body of work that challenges us to consider how the
introduction of a single and simple new element - a circle - can alter our perception of
the subject. The addition of the circles to the artist’s signature layered abstract
portraits that employ a vivid palette and dynamic rapid gestural brush strokes,
invites a new dimension of interpretation.
The circle is a universal symbol with numerous symbolic undertones: unity, infinity,
the sun and moon, the sacred etc. In these works, Kos Cos tries to break established
views by contrasting halo-like circles that suggest a sense of ‘virtue’ with other
elements such as bared bodies that confront notions of piety. Thus in these paintings,
circles have no prescribed meaning other than being mere shapes or props.
The title, An Incomplete Totality, echoes humanity’s endless quest of sense-making;
the restless and incessant pursuit of a complete truth derived from limited bodies of
evidence. The portraits are disordered and obscured, form and context often merging,
with only the circle resolutely holding the subject in place.

Materials used:

Oil

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