159. Droste carnations by Domstad Rudie

About "159. Droste carnations"

by Domstad Rudie

About the artwork

Droste carnations is an intriguing digital artwork that plays with perspective and repetition. Against a plain beige wall is a transparent, puckered glass bottle, in which two subtly flowering carnations are placed. They rest on a narrow, barely visible grey metal cabinet, whose industrial austerity contrasts with the fragile elegance of the flowers. From the back of the cabinet, a thick black cord snakes to a double socket on the wall, connected with a recognisable earth plug - a mundane detail that anchors the image in reality.
However, the eye is immediately drawn to the subtle visual joke that gives the work its name: above the socket hangs a small bamboo frame in which the entire scene is depicted once again - complete with bottle, flowers, cabinet, cord ánd frame. This is the beginning of an endless visual loop: in the frame hangs the same scene again, including another smaller frame, and so on. This "Droste effect" - named after the famous Dutch cocoa tin on which a nurse carries a tray with the same tin - creates an endless regression, elevating the ordinary to something alienating.
The calm composition, soft colours and subtle light enhance the sense of stillness, while the repetition draws the eye inwards, deeper and deeper into the image. Balancing between irony and poetry, Droste carnations invites repeated viewing - each time with a smile and a question: where does this image end?

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Finished on: 14 March 2024