Caída de conciencia [Loss of Consciousness]

Jorge de la Vega relied on experimental techniques to generate an imaginary universe populated by monstrous beasts and distorted figures. The poetic title of this work is a pun on the common Spanish expression "toma de conciencia" [becoming aware]. It suggests that existence becomes conflicted by our inability to resolve the contradictions between gaining and losing awareness. De la Vega seems inspired by existentialism as he literally splits the self in two, using collaged linen to represent a male figure and its distorted double. This elongated image was created by rubbing linen directly over the wrinkled canvas. The resulting copy was then stretched and glued onto the surface of the work. The figure and his elongated doppelgänger float in close proximity, but their relationship remains unsettled.