Erosion: A Metaphor for Becoming

Burn.Break.Rise. by Marina Chisty

Erosion is the process by which natural forces wear away and transport materials from one position to another. It is a transference of energy. Sometimes it’s a violent act, other times it’s slow and sustained.

My paintings don’t depict erosion – they are erosion. They are not representations of movement; they are the embodiment of movement and continuous change. As I place pigment upon the canvas it disperses like sediment carried by water. The layers spread and settle like geological formations. They do not form a fixed resolution. The painting will continue to interact with the environment long after the paint has dried and I have stopped my interaction with it. Each painting is a record of time in motion. It is an event as opposed to an object. The artwork is a material conversation.

Not Just a Geographical Process

My research and painting process centers on erosion not only as a geological process, but as a metaphor for becoming. I explore how this process can be visualized through the interactions of water and pigment: some particles dissolve, some resist and others settle into layers. Each painting shows sedimentation: the accumulation of decisions, delays, gestures, and gravitational flows.

On a personal level, as someone who immigrated from Russia to the USA, I live between languages, landscapes and cultures. This has always placed me in a state of in-betweenness. I’m constantly in the process of becoming and not-yet-resolved. Depicting erosion through my painting practice has become an opportunity to dwell in this space. For me, the natural process of erosion is a metaphor for life and transformation. It’s about the way things shift, adapt, and transform, whether through gradual dissolution or sudden rupture.

Erosion isn’t just something that exists in the physical world but also in the way the present fades into the past. I see it represented in relationships between people as they gradually drift apart: sometimes through abrupt separations, other times through a slow continuous breaking down and micro-adjustment of their lives. People as they age and evolve shift through different modes of existence, and different phases of their character and identity. This is the natural course of life. Change is inevitable and yet there is often a strong desire for permanence and to hold onto moments.

The human condition grieves change and yet transformation is essential. It is the only certainty of existence. As a rock erodes into sand, and continues in its cycle, a person's identity and relationships do not remain static but shift into different forms. 

Impermanence as An Essential Force

As an artist I don’t just want to depict life’s forces, I want to embody them and make them part of the creative process. I want to explore the tension between permanence and change. I’m focused on finding novel ways of representing that change is inevitable and nothing can remain the same no matter what fixatives we attempt to employ to hold something in place.

In the same way sediment is carried by a river and settles into formations within the banks or on the river bed, my paintings become a site of material transformation. I guide the painting process and intermittently intervene, but I also surrender to it and allow the water and pigment to find their own course.

The Paradox of Painting Erosion

Every painting eventually dries. It resolves into a fixed state. However, as previously mentioned, this in itself is an impossible expectation and an illusion. Although the painting may seem to have come to a final set point of existence, change is still occurring, erosion is still at play.

The surface retains the memory of movement and the traces of sedimented pigment but the painting is not static. The painting is a record of transition and a testament to changes that transpired and those yet to occur.

Through painting I acknowledge the truth of impermanence and find beauty in the process. Instead of trying to resist change, I’m encouraged to embrace the inevitability of it. It helps me to accept and find meaning in what slips away.

If you are interested in finding out more about the philosophies behind my practice take a look at my posts: Collaborating with Matter Rather Than Mastering it and The Act of Practice and Patience in Art