Paz Viola's work concerned itself with dreams, the universe and the void. These explorations stem from the influence of family, Uruguayan and African American culture and inspire the artist's interest in magical stories. The art world that emerges from these inspirations, or a subconscious, a suggestion, a reminder, is fantastic. It cannot be scientifically calculated or expressed, but at the centre it all leads to one unifying point, the desire for the unknown. "All works are born from the pulsation of inspiration: all images are born from a point and a line." It's like another layer of human thinking, another territory that will suddenly give me a sense of timelessness. Perhaps you know that every atom in our bodies can be traced back to the Big Bang and the nuclear fusion of stars. Each of us individually is meaningful. Beyond the star-filled blackness of the sky, there will be an endless void, the dark face of deep space and a mysterious universe that we can never understand. When I look up at the stars, I can have the feeling that I am small and honestly admit my ignorance, which is different from the feeling I get when I am surrounded by nature. But at the same time, we can feel powerful because that unknown gives us endless freedom and the right to imagine. We take the virtual home that we have built up in our cosmovision. We share it with others and bury it deep in the world of our own spirit.
