Milada Hejdová↓

About the work

Study of Psychological Portraits in the Context of Today’s Society

My diploma work focuses on a topic I have been interested in for a long time: the human psyche – human soul. Its specific subject is a family friend, the excellent musician Jeff who, as one of the pieces of a mosaic composed of interesting but also highly controversial figures, has left a distinctive trace in my life. I think my work may serve as a mirror for someone, or even as a reflection on the choices we make.

My painting series aims to capture Jeff in a variety of his immensely unstable and often very radical mental states. And although his soul has been plagued by the demon of alcohol and others, he is very sensitive and loving. I hope I’ve managed to express at least some facets of his soul and the symbolic form of a new person which, I believe, one can become.

I commenced my work upon consulting it with the head of my studio. I subsequently decided to return to the well-proven technique of oil painting and to conceive the portrayal of Jeff’s trumpets as a series of classic still-lifes.

As to the painting composition and the objects featured, my source of inspiration was Baroque (mainly Dutch) masters. I initially intended to create a triptych of large-dimensional still-lifes using photomontage and arranged after a floral still-life by Rachel Ruysch. The still-lifes solely consisted of Jeff’s trumpets and hands. However, several tutorials made me review this plan and return to a more formal still-life. I chose smaller dimensions and began working on a series of multiple paintings instead of a triptych. The portrayal was preceded by several sessions and debates with the heads of the studio, when we discussed the compositions of the trumpet still-lifes that I photographed. Then the best compositions were selected, and my painting could start.

The main subject here is Jeff’s trumpets crushed by his own hand. A crumpled trumpet can represent many things. It is an instrument that had once garnered admiration, stirred emotions, experienced and remembers many things – but it cannot produce a sound now. I mainly understand this instrument on a symbolic level, which is the soul of the musician who stayed in our house for some time and left several crushed trumpets behind. These serve me to create still-lifes and additional objects that have their own symbolic character. I thus try to capture Jeff’s personality in various mental states.

The still-life series ends in the positive and hopeful spirit of the last painting, which should symbolically present Jeff as a new person.