Restoring Van Gogh Ear

About the work

The artist reimagines Van Gogh’s Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear by repainting it and placing it in a newly designed frame with Oriental motifs. Wooden gears in a planetary configuration and an ultrasonic sensor activate when a viewer approaches. A wooden 3D-printed ear slowly moves toward the portrait until it reaches its place, symbolically restoring Van Gogh’s ear. The piece offers ironic solace for the suffering artist myth while literally reframing Western art in a new context, exploring unity through suffering and irony.