Roger K. Art Interp Longer Version

Roger Kilimanjaro LONGER VERSION.

We are excited for Roger’s second comeback on Nifty Gateway, where he will share his 9 visions, Void, Zen, Love, Madness, Wealth, Success, Death, Luck, and Hope.
Instead of Roger performing a crystal ball reading, he made work to explore possible futures one can choose from. Roger introduces his piece by asking the viewers “Discover what the future holds for you” He is giving the viewer the ultimate power to choose their future. I could think of no better thing to compare his work to than a therapist. He is inviting people into his ultimate and ideal virtual reality and I hope you experience it.

 I love how he started the series off with the piece Void and made it vision number 0.
Just as the title suggests, when the viewer opens the piece, viewers’ eyes are met with jet black. From that black the viewer will be able to see a circle emerging. A circle is a  perfect shape, and perhaps the artist is questioning people’s desire for perfection. By titling the piece “Void,” he is telling us that perfection is not valid and that “perfection” could be completely empty and meaningless.  This piece really allows the viewer to let their minds go and enjoy a particular moment in time.

Vision 1 is titled Zen. The circle is a concept strongly associated with Zen. It symbolizes enlightenment, strength and elegance and the void. He successfully depicted zen by bringing balance to the piece in the way it’s symmetrical, and adding the Budda hand gesture, or mudra, of “Darmachakra” which means continuous energy. Through his vision 1, he is bringing a spiritual feeling to the viewers to encourage them to reach for their spiritual aspirations.

Vision 2, which is love, starts with imperfect balls bouncing toward each other.
Perhaps he is trying to tell the viewers how love is like a bouncing ball,,it could change direction at any time.

Vision 3 is Madness. I was afraid to open up this one. The destruction and irritating sound remained with me even after I stopped his video. Almost like a black hole, it draws you into a tunnel-like space, but at the end, some sort of force like fire destroys you. Again, there is an interesting juxtaposition when he starts off with a clear circle and suddenly the mood shifts to highly contrasting color and temperature. He is really presenting madness to the viewer. I am not sure if everyone is ready to take that.

Version 4 is Wealth. Who would not want to have wealth?
Also, he is promoting this piece on Instagram and saying ”Will you be lucky enough to get this one?” As seen through the crystal, he is showering viewers with gold rain, or golden noodles. The way he is bringing humor into the piece puts a smile on viewers’ faces. He even creates the coin “Spagoot” which is something I am deeply interested in investing in. One of those coins creates noodles of wealth over and over again  like an ATM machine.

Vision 5 is Success. Perhaps he is telling the viewer that although success seems far away, it is reachable if one tries. He is trying to tell the viewers that everybody has potential to achieve all the success they desire and his crystal ball will show them how by simplifying the process for the viewers. The fact that Vision 5 is Success and came directly after Wealth is significant. It's interesting to see the relationship between vision 4 and 5. Vision 4 presented gold noodles, but here in vision 5 , he is painting the whole planet with gold.

Vision 6 is death. What a dramatic shift from success to death.
When I was opening this piece, I wasn’t scared, rather I was prepared.  What a perfect metaphor to have that vision be titled death. It brings to mind the circle of life and death.
I love how the piece started with a clear circle. It is calm at first and suddenly brings us to destruction through the breaking of the crystal. It starts blurry and emphasizes the light.  By having such a bright light at the end, perhaps he is implying that there is an afterlife or spiritual presence. God  is greeting us at the end of the tunnel, or perhaps there is no end of the tunnel.

Vision 7 is luck. Apparently there are approximately 10.000 three leaf clovers for every lucky four leaf clover. He is presenting you with luck by preserving it inside the crystal ball. You will never have to worry about it  running out because it will be preserved forever.

Vision 8 is Hope. It is his last piece in the collection. He starts with a defined circle and ends up with a soft soap bubble like texture with rainbows of colors on its edges. Just like  the way the sun rises, our hope can rise high with the soap bubble and we can reach our goals.

The phenomena he creates is quite remarkable. He is telling anecdotes with individual pieces and he is allowing the viewers to have an open interpretation. John Lubbock once said what we see depends mainly on what we look for. Through his works, I realize, one’s thoughts shape one’s vision, and it’s interesting how he is letting one choose a premade vision from the shelf.