Epiphany of the Face

The series Epiphany of the Face emerged under the strong influence of the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas. It was a moment in my artistic practice when reflections on the image were largely shaped by philosophical thought. In later works I increasingly began to write and think in my own terms, focusing mainly on perception and the experience of seeing. In this series, however, many of the questions originate directly from Levinas’s ideas.

For Levinas, the face is not merely a physical feature or an element of appearance. It is an event of encountering another human being. The face reveals a presence that cannot be fully reduced to an image or object of perception. In the encounter with the face, the viewer confronts the experience of the Other — something that exceeds purely visual recognition.

Levinas also emphasized that the face is not limited to what is visible. Its significance lies in the ethical call addressed to the other person, in the immediate relation of responsibility that arises in the moment of encounter. The face does not simply allow itself to be seen; it confronts the viewer with the presence of another human being.

The drawings in the series Epiphany of the Face can therefore be understood as an attempt to capture the moment of this encounter. They do not aim merely to represent physical likeness, but rather to explore the tension between seeing, presence, and the experience of the Other that emerges within the image of the face.