Corners of My Mind | 2024 - 2025

This series by Arnaud Maere explores the tension between perception and marginality through a sequence of 11 sculptural works to be mounted precisely in the corner of a room, where two walls meet and where light rarely falls. Referencing the iconic Rorschach inkblots, the works engage not with diagnosis but with societal labeling: how those who think differently, often regarded as irrational, eccentric, or “mad,” are not celebrated at the center but quietly relegated to the margins. As the old saying goes, “Genius is close to madness,” yet such minds are often hidden away, cornered by convention.

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The title and concept are directly inspired by two Dutch spreekwoorden (proverbs): “In een hoekje gedreven worden” and “Hij heeft een hoek af.” The first, which means “to be backed into a corner,” refers to someone who is marginalized, dismissed, or socially sidelined. The second, “he has a corner missing,” is a colloquial way of saying someone is mentally offbeat or not all there, but it also carries a playful respect for eccentricity. Together, these expressions highlight the way society simultaneously fears and romanticizes those who do not fit conventional patterns.
 

Each piece consists of a gesso inkblot formed on untreated linen. The gesso, applied thickly and intuitively, cracks and swells into vein-like structures that subtly resemble the interior anatomy of the brain. Mirrored only along a vertical axis, the blots resemble brain cross-sections, recalling both psychological introspection and medical imagery. The mirrored inkblot, historically a tool for analyzing the subconscious, becomes here a symbol for the misread or misunderstood mind.
 

By placing the works in corners, Maere emphasizes architectural space as metaphor. The corner is neither one wall nor the other. It is both and neither. It is a site of convergence and isolation, a space where things are often hidden, ignored, or stored. These inkblots do not demand to be centered; instead, they choose the periphery, quietly waiting for the viewer to step closer.
 

Unlike traditional portraits or works with a defined message, this series remains intentionally open. Each piece is marked only by a serial number, from 011105 to 111105, which references its place in the 11-part series and in Maere’s fifth conceptual cycle. The numbering reinforces the artist’s consistent practice of working in series of exactly 11 works, a method rooted in personal symbolism and structural clarity.
 

The title "Corners of My Mind" reflects the layered nature of the work. It is at once psychological, architectural, and philosophical. These are not portraits of people but of mental states: split perceptions, misunderstood thoughts, or minds placed out of sight. As with previous projects, Maere invites the viewer not only to observe but to engage with what lies at the edge of visibility. The result is a quiet but powerful call to reconsider what society chooses to sideline, and why.

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