Geste(lachend) examines the elemental connection between humanity, nature, and communication. Archaic materials - fire and stone, symbols of the earliest tools and capacities of humankind - form the material and conceptual foundation of the series. They point to the origins of human action and open a space for reflection on knowledge, experience, and creative processes.

At the center stands the smiley as a universal sign of emotion and communication, reduced to its essentials. In conjunction with elemental materials, it unfolds a field of tension between past and present, nature and culture, simplicity and complexity. The juxtaposition of a contemporary symbol with archaic substances makes visible how fundamentally forms of communication transform and yet remain intact at their core.

The "laughing gesture" condenses communication into an immediate, clear form that is legible across cultural and temporal boundaries. The series invites a renewed awareness of one's own relationship to nature, material, and the foundations of artistic practice.

Geste(lachend), 2026 was produced using a propane torch. Through the localized application of extreme heat, the surface of the stainless steel sheet is permanently altered. The result is what metalworkers call temper colors, oxidation layers whose specific hues correspond directly to the intensity of the thermal treatment applied. The drawing is therefore not an additive mark but the result of a controlled material process.

The laughing gesture depicted stands in deliberate contrast to the enormous energetic and labor-intensive process of its making. The preparation is time-consuming and technically demanding; the execution of the gesture is its final step.

That moment is unrepeatable, there is only one attempt.

The work functions as a humorous yet critical commentary on our at times contradictory relationship to energy, resources, and the drive toward productivity. The lightness of the motif collides with the physical and material intensity of its production.