Brian Robertson: Imaginary Friends

Imaginary Friends is a solo exhibition by the American artist Brian Robertson, which is his Asia debut exhibition.

The exhibition is a contemplative observation of social isolation last year, when Robertson found himself depressed due to isolation and disconnected from friends and family. The new painting series is an exploratory study of the artist's personal relationship, artistic practice, self-identification and preconceived reality.

In the past year, the artist has experienced the Apophenia phenomenon, also known as the ability of the subconscious mind to find patterns in seemingly incomprehensible data in order to find meaning in chaos. The classic example of Apophenia is to see people on the moon, look for animal shapes in the clouds, and identify constellations that represent a map of the night sky.

His Apophenia originated from memories of relatives, recognizing specific shapes and patterns from the corners of his mind. The concept of Imaginary Friends originated from a photo taken by his friend. He was inspired by depicting the memories of people who lost their social connections due to isolation. Staying away from your loved ones can cause misunderstandings, because subconscious false memories are the truth. Isolation reveals to Robertson the original desire for contact with humans.
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