The Watcher

"The Watcher" is the central work in Jen Weissenbacher's series exploring the relationship between perception, nature, and cosmic order. The gorilla symbolizes the deep, often forgotten connection between humans and nature. Its presence is calm yet powerful – a silent sentinel.

 

The surface, modeled with polymer clay, lends the figure not only physicality but also emotional depth – every wrinkle, every tension is palpable. The background is painted gold, inspired by the iconography of religious pictorial traditions. The gold here functions not as decoration, but as a carrier of meaning: It lifts the figure from the earthly realm and lends it a universal, almost spiritual dimension.

 

Weissenbacher subverts classical hierarchies between animal and human, subject and object, observer and observed. Who is observing whom here? The gorilla gazes directly out of the painting – calm, penetrating, unwavering. The eyes are made of black glass: They reflect not only the light of the room, but also the observer himself. The observer becomes the observed. This reversal evokes a sense of existential reflection: about the relationship to nature, one's own position in the fabric of life, the fragility of control.