The power of art lies in its ability to transport us to other worlds, a realm created by the artist that resembles our own in some ways but is uniquely the artist’s in others. That’s what we get in Diana Meridi’s video works, where she challenges the nature of memory, perception and consciousness.
Compelling visuals and a lulling soundscape guide us around her world, and we are explorers discovering her realm as it transforms and evolves around us. Could we live in this world? Are we alien intruders? What is left to find in this dimension? The everyday meets the mystical in these surreal landscapes, and I want to know more about them. It’s a digital world, but unlike the attention-grabbing world of social media, to which we’re accustomed, this world is more meditative and envelops us gently.
A recurring motif of an eye appears in her video art pieces, but it’s not an eye of surveillance watching us in case we break some unwritten rule. It’s a watchful eye that seems nurturing, parentally watching over us as we explore a new world, ready to guide us back on the path if we stray from it.
‘Whispers of the City’ feels darker as we’re guided through an urban environment where the people are mere shadows of themselves. Are they ghosts of previous inhabitants, or can we not perceive them because we are not of their world? There’s an intriguing mystery here that remains out of reach.
The eye and shadows appear in ‘Dreamscape Echoes.’ Still, here, they feel more welcoming as we move among the swaying figures, as if we’re part of their process of transcending into another realm, just as many cultures have used movement and dance to reach a heightened spiritual state.
While many contemporary digital artists lean towards overt commentary, Meridi uses the medium to forge intimate, almost haptic connections with the viewer’s subconscious, subtly subverting expectations of digital art as a purely external or surface-level experience.
Diana Meridi’s Video Art pieces are a spiritual and psychological portal. Her art doesn’t just ask us to look, but to see. Welcome to her world and enjoy the bliss of the surreal sights and fantastic characters.
More information on Diana Meridi may be found on her website and via Instagram.
All images are copyright of the artist.
