Video stills from Still Human, Sophia Dominguez, 2018
Photo credit: Sophia Dominguez, Diploma in Fine Art, Year 3
Commonly known as the forward slash in text and writing, the oblique, an upward-sloping diagonal line, seems somewhat oxymoronic. The unassuming line divides yet connects and has the capacity to accommodate both analogous and antonymous ideas. One could say it resembles the proverbial fence.
Although with slightly different uses in geometry, music and botany, the oblique nevertheless consistently points towards asymmetry, deviation and in-betweenness. By extension and perhaps more importantly, the oblique, both visually and conceptually, implies the impossibility of neutrality.
Oblique is an anthology of contributions from faculty, staff and students of the NAFA Fine Art Programme as at August 2019. The entries celebrate a diverse range of practices and pursuits, and the artist’s role in negotiating historical, cultural and material tensions in the 21st century.