Signal Gallery presents 'Anima' A solo exhibition by Bael

"Every personification of the unconscious - the shadow, the Anima, the Animus, and the Self - has both a light and a dark aspect. The Anima and Animus have dual aspects: They can bring life-giving development and creativeness to the personality, or they can cause petrification and physical death"…..Carl Jung

In his 3rd solo show at Signal Gallery, artist Bael explores the twilight between the male and female unconscious states otherwise known as the Anima/Animus.Like much of the artists oeuvre this exhibition highlights Bael's quest to connect with the subconscious 'me' and a zen like balance.

While men often banter about being “in touch with their feminine side”, philosopher Carl Jung recognized this interplay between the conscious and subconscious minds.
That for every man there was a female subconscious state and vice-versa for a woman. He believed that being in harmony with it, presented a more rounded individual who could better engage with society.
He also believed that fighting it , could have an adverse effect on a person’s outwardly behaviour, an example being, that , a man’s aggressive homophobic tendency might shield a fear of being in touch with his Anima.
However, it’s not just the teachings of Jung that fascinate Bael. With a spiritual nod to William Blake and a form reminiscent of Schiele, there is a spiritual abandon that beckons the viewer to let go, to be free, though in Bael’s world, such self - discovery can also be the stuff of nightmares.
We leave the last word to the artist himself:

“Anima is Latin for 'the soul' or the inner life of someone/something, and encapsulates what I hope to achieve in my work, showing the human form, but not making it a representation of a specific person. I like to think that my work shows the inner emotion and complexity of human beings in a simple and affecting way. It’s about addressing the duality of male and female attributes in a single person which in turn contribute to the strange and conflicting emotions between two people.”