THESE IMAGES, based on stills from films I made in the 1980s, are a set of studies for future paintings. They also relate to my 1992 series “Der diagnostische Blick” (The Diagnostic View), and to the painting Bloodstains, 1993.
In the past, I would cut out numbers and glue them to the surfaces of my paintings, enumerating the canvases from one to ten before starting over again. I saw these numbers as a reality that contrasted with the fictional character of what the painting itself depicted. During these days of pandemic, numbers have taken on a different meaning: On one hand, they portray the idea of piling up; on the other, they imply a countdown to an end.