Sprüche aus dem anderen Geschlecht

The wide range of media used by TOMAK is impressive. The freedom to be diverse is important to him. In the conception of his pictures, however, he always remains true to the figurative, as in his cycle of “Vagina-Monologues”, where he shows works of it in this exhibition. The trigger was the logo of the tampon company o.b. At first a large picture was created in the studio. From this, TOMAK developed a series with red coloured pencil in which he once again combined scientific drawings with texts. Specifically with texts by the radical US feminist Valerie Jean Solanas, who gained fame in 1968 beyond her SCUM manifesto (Manifesto of the Society for the Destruction of Men) by assassinating Andy Warhol. And with texts by US activist Eve Ensler, author of the play “Vagina-Monologues”, which, based on over 200 interviews with women, tell of sexual experiences and erotic fantasies. He was touched by the sentence: Cultural development is always tied to the woman. “This is completely correct and very interesting. Whether it is the veiling by the chador or the chastity rituals of many religions – alienation of the woman from her own genitals becomes apparent through these texts, and the drawings reflect these perceptions. I was not so aware of many things. But the texts also show how strongly education, environment, civilization, culture and religion still shape gender roles today,” the artist says.

After exhibitions in Austria (including Albertina Vienna, Kunsthalle Wien, Rupertinum – Museum der Moderne Salzburg, Landesmuseum NÖ, MAK – Österreichisches Museum für angewandte Kunst/ Gegenwartskunst) and abroad (Kunsthuis Yello Art, Geel, Belgium; Lehmbruck Museum Duisburg, Heike Curtze Berlin, Galerie 14+1 Stuttgart, Germany), TOMAK’s works in painting, drawing, sculpture, text and performance are present in numerous renowned museums and collections. TOMAK lives and works in Vienna.