Roman Ondak, If, 2019

Ink on found old postcard
8,9 x 13,8 cm, framed 40 x 50 x 4 cm
Unique
Signed, titled and dated

If, 2019 is a suite of black-and-white prints and postcards depicting views of Notre Dame in Paris. In a reference to the recent re in the Parisian landmark, bright red clouds rise from the cathedral’s towers and into the sky. As in previous works, Roman Ondak inserts himself into historical moments by modifying mass-produced ephemera of places and events, focusing on the construction of collective cultural memory through the use of images.
With emotional immediacy, by alluding to a disaster considered an international cultural tragedy, the artist provokes personal memories and individual acts of mourning, highlighting a shared yet individualized experience of loss.