noun
1. outward aspect or appearance.

2. an assumed or unreal appearance.

3. the slightest appearance or trace.

4. a likeness, image, or copy.

5. a spectral appearance; apparition.

Who are “the people”? This elusive entity is frequently invoked by authoritarian regimes, in whose name they claim to rule. The term appears in fascist dictatorships, often framed through nationalism, but also in socialist states, where it can extend beyond national borders.

In The Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx wrote about the “spectre of communism” haunting Europe. His focus was on the working class as the agent of revolutionary change. In Marxist theory, the definition of this class is relatively strict. Yet it is also possible to interpret the working class more broadly—as everyone who depends on wages, or even as all those who are not owners of the means of production. The Occupy movement captured a similar idea with its slogan of “the 99 percent.”

Liberal democracies also appeal to the notion of “the people” when describing how shared values unite citizens into a coherent political community. Yet within today’s capitalist ideology, it is less clear whether these values still genuinely function as unifying principles, or whether they merely serve to conceal their own erosion. One might also ask whether such values primarily benefit a small minority rather than the majority they claim to represent.

Perhaps most commonly, however, “the people” is invoked in moments of uprising and resistance. The concept is useful up to a point: it often proves easier to unite against a common enemy than around a shared program or solution. Once the immediate struggle subsides, such unity frequently dissolves—unless it is sustained by powerful symbols or charismatic leadership.

Speaking Stones is a compilation of paintings made with imprints of ordinary stones.

I see the stone as a metaphor for popular struggle and protest. It is the closest available weapon to the powerless. Throwing stones is a symbolic form of violence. The aim is not to overpower the opponent physically. It demonstrates defiance in the face of power by expressing concretely that the premises of the situation aren't acceptable. The stone speaks but not in a language open to negotiation or dialogue. A conversation means accepting the context in which it takes place and is thus always, to a certain degree, a form of submission. The language of stones is the language of mute matter. A form of silence that nevertheless speaks clearly and directly. The stone represents the resistance in itself from a place outside of language.

The stone is an entirely exchangeable and ordinary object that exists everywhere. At the same time, each stone is unique and has its own beauty and unfathomable mystery for anyone open to seeing it. This duality fascinates me. A stone is perhaps the closest we can get to a thing-in-itself, bound as we are to language. Sealed around itself, oblivious to the outside world. Simply existing. In a way, we can never truly understand. Infinite in its everydayness. Specific and concrete in its presence.

Res Ipsa is a compilation of works made by an act shaping the filler once it is prepared inside the frame. The works thus function as a recording device and give a statement of the event taking place while the filler was still wet.

Res Ipsa is Latin for "the thing itself" and is part of the juridical term "Res ipsa loquitur" (the thing speaks for itself), used when an injury or accident in itself clearly shows who is responsible, such as an instrument left inside a body after surgery.