Cordula Kaiser VISUAL DIALOGUE | °

The Greek philosopher Empedocles in the 5th century BC. is the first to define the "four elements", the roots of all things: "First of all, know the fourfold root of all things: Zeus is the bright fire, Hera mother of life, and then Idoneo, finally Nesti, at whose sources mortals drink.” The English artist Joe Tilson (1928), after a long period dedicated to pop art through prints, dedicated himself to alchemical elements starting in the 1970s This change corresponds to the deliberate choice of 1972 to return to a simpler lifestyle, thus taking an interest in natural cycles and the elements. In Alchera, Tilson carries out a schematic study of the symbology of the four elements. The decision to tackle the four elements at the same time may seem difficult to make. Not many artists have taken on such a complex challenge. Despite this, the well-known American artist Bill Viola (1951) engages in one of his video installations Martyrs (Earth, Air, Fire, Water) which is presented for the first time in 2014 in St. Paul's Basilica in London and tells, in four separate screens, men and women slowly overwhelmed each by the four elements.