Autotoxemia

Autotoxemia series seeks to visualize the sense of resentment and hostility directed at that which one identifies as the cause of one's frustration, generated by a sense of weakness and inferiority and feelings of jealousy and envy.

In philosophy and psychology, "Ressentiment" is one of the forms of resentment or hostility. The

concept was of particular interest to some 19th century thinkers, most notably Friedrich Nietzsche.

The term was also studied by Max Scheler in a monograph published in 1912 and reworked a few

years later. Scheler attempted to place Nietzsche's ideas in a more sociologically articulated context.

He started by considering how values are established within society and next proceeded to analyze

their sharing or rejection on various grounds.

Scheler's described Ressentiment in his book by the same title as follows:

“…Ressentiment is a self-poisoning of the mind which has quite definite causes and consequences.

It is a lasting mental attitude, caused by the systematic repression of certain emotions and affects

which, as such are normal components of human nature. Their repression leads to the constant

tendency to indulge in certain kinds of value delusions and corresponding value judgments. The

emotions and affects primarily concerned are revenge, hatred, malice, envy, the impulse to detract,

and spite...”

Autotoxemia series seeks to visualize the sense of resentment and hostility directed at that which

one identifies as the cause of one's frustration, generated by a sense of weakness and inferiority and

feelings of jealousy and envy.

A combination of collage portraits and abstract images were used in this work. The facial features

of the portraits have been replaced with photographs of stormy seas, which convey the emotional

state of a resentful man, as facial expressions are a form of nonverbal communication. All these

images were processed in such a way as to refer to the toxicity that results from the state of

resentment.