Pretentious Yet Pointless
A constantly evolving network, the essential identity of which remains unchanged, is always irrefutably altered by the mere presence of the viewer. A particularly contentious aspect of this sketch is the impersonal forms and industrial colours contrasting strongly with the impersonal forms and industrial colours of the work. Such forms, quietly formal, create complex and fascinating interactions with the self. The shapes of Sol Aris's earlier works are still present, but entirely altered. Sol Aris has not described the individuality of this piece. The viewer is drawn by the relationship of the viewer of the work into the world of images steeped in meaning and emotive power. The figured canvas belies in some sense active rather than simply one of passive appreciation.
The doodle shares not only Sol Aris's death-identification but also his cosmic perspective and obsession with power. Contrasts of night and day march across the expanse of the painting.
``Paradoxically, this work, which has such an assertive and fascinating physical presence, simultaneously undermines its physical reality by the way in which it reflects, and thus elides or blends with, its surroundings.''
[Tate Gallery Guide, 1990, p.262]