Dan De Nardis - PONDERINGS OF A WEARY MIND

The monsters have always been there – I have an affinity for them, you see. Their form and face have changed over the years; sometimes inhuman, sometimes humanoid, but always dwelling in the realm of the ‘not quite’. They first emerged long ago on a page, and then one day, willed themselves to become three-dimensional. No matter what medium I ran too, they would join me and manifest themselves there – a slightly different way each time. I discovered they quite liked charcoal, in its messiness and rawness and chaos, but glass – they liked that especially. It was as though the unusual, unpredictable material in its own ever-changing nature captured their own temperament best, and when I took up my tools and tamed fire to guide them back into existence once again – they at last seemed satisfied with my choice.

My work roots itself in the monstrous and the otherworldly to address real world experiences and concepts, delving into the darker, more uncomfortable elements of human experience to bring them to light. Once inspired by the folklore and fairytales of my upbringing, the creatures I found there – despite their unusual and sometimes unsettling nature – became a source of comfort, and a means of grounding and expressing what exists within. Glass – a material that feels almost otherworldly in its own strange, ethereal, temperamental nature – is the body that gives life and sentience to meticulously hand-sculpted figures and forms, and harkens to the often-invisible and delicate nature of the themes they explore.

The works collected here are an ongoing exploration of the human mind, both my own and those of others, in an effort to better understand it. I am immensely grateful to my loved ones who provided their stories and first-hand experiences with their own mental conditions during the development of some of the work involved in this exhibition, and it is my hope that those who see it will find something meaningful within it – whether it be a new perspective and insight, or perhaps comfort and solidarity.

I have been a pillar for people for as long as I can remember. I was that infallible column that did not crumble, that stood through every trial and weathered every storm. And I was proud of that. I am proud of that. I, for the most part, am still that pillar. However, recently, I noticed there were cracks, or more so, I truly acknowledged that they were there. I refused to believe that I could have anything chip away at me in any substantial way, and yet…

Well, the art on the walls says otherwise.

Accepting my disproven invulnerability has been a war, but I have found it is easier to face your demons when they too are provided with a face – and so, about came the monsters. Attributing a physical form to an invisible adversary makes it tangible, and if it is tangible, if it can be visualised, it can be fought, cast aside, can be separated from the self. Monsters are common in the minds of many – I, and you, are not alone in that – and here, in Ponderings of a Weary Mind, each otherworldly, inhuman visage is wielded to investigate the truly human experience that is “not being okay”.

Join us for Opening Night of D/O.79 Ponderings of a Weary Mind

Friday December 1st from 5-7pm at Disorder Gallery

Dan’s work will be on display from

November 30th through December 16th at Disorder Gallery