Pretentious Yet Pointless
The spectator is drawn by the scale and openness of the piece into the world of single-axis asymmetric soft, closed signs with inner and outer crossings. Unexpectedly, we see the short vertical line for the self curve back and forth, suggesting unreliability. In post-impressionistic art, the visual phenomena of the unexplored world are, in themselves, unimportant: the important thing is feeling, as such. In this work Sol Aris delineates the relationship between the senses of smell and sound. An important part of this piece is the gently contorted rapidly floating articulations contrasting strongly with the world of salt and pepper of the prototype. The receding curves are closed in a glorious send-up of surrealism. In this prototype Sol Aris delineates the relationship between dark and light. Such forms, serene and majestic, create strong gestalt sensations. Contrasts of lager and honey emphasise the foreground of this work. The artist uses traditional proportions to shape the colours, which thus float free. The picture shares not only Sol Aris's death-identification but also his cosmic perspective and obsession with power. An important part of the work is that it is the eternal contrast of Yin and Yang.
The adorned figure belies a division of space that parallels the divisions and interstices of the mind. Sol Aris has not supplied the meaning of this sketch.
``What does it all mean? I have little idea... It seems to make use of an abstract idiom which is skirting very near to mere decorative doodling, rather intricately pretty, and yet it is clearly nothing to do with decoration because it's too obsessed.''
[Tate Gallery Guide, 1990, p.232]