Renata Hegyi works in multiple mediums and techniques using photography, printing and drawing. In all her works Hegyi’s inspiration comes from our everyday life. She is observing objects and spaces around us and capturing time and change through details of light, marks and colours. In her drawings, she captures the sensitivity of time by drawing the same objects but shifting their composition slightly making us aware not only of the marks on the paper but the subtle adjustments.
Hegyi is focused on colour and form for her exhibition same-same, but different at MOCA London. All the works are handmade and Hegyi meticulously created a body of work exploring form and colours. Pieces such as Single circle unit; Green on Pink / Pink on Green suggest a direct reading of a shift in colour composition. Looking at the two prints next to each other we can see the same forms and composition, but the shift of colours makes us see different pieces in a relational dialogue.
Hegyi has created an indexical body of work using 2 colours or 3 colours combinations. The prints are also in units of large, medium and smaller circles. These are repeated in an infinite set of orders which becomes a multitude of the singular in an expansion of endless dialogues.
On closer inspections, you notice the printing marks and the subtle change of position of the printing plates. Just like the shadows in her photographs, these details bring us closer to Hegyi’s ability to make the unnoticed a relevant reading of the work and take us closer to the process of making.
In Thailand the phrase ‘same-same, but different’ means ‘similar’ and is used in different situations. Describing something as ‘same same’ (even if it’s significantly different) is a way to answer a question vaguely, without actually saying “no” (or “it’s different”). Simply claiming that something is ‘same same’ could avoid a confrontation and allow the differences to be the same. In the present moment of polar views in society, Hegyi’s abstract work reminds us to find points of the same in viewpoints of difference.
''Inspiration primarily comes from the everyday. It combines a number of themes: observation of still life, journeys, and reading. And is somewhat rooted in the autobiographical reflecting on personal questions about existence.
I'm fascinated by how reality is shaped and like to examine the different viewpoints on the same topic. A slight change reveals a different version of the truth. I'm curious about the borderline between abstraction and realism, imaginary and real.
The handmade process is an important element in the making.'' - Renata Hegyi