Halfway Across the Rubicon

With the support of the Amarte Fund, Luis Xertu developed a new working method in which photographic images and painting come together on unstable surfaces. The results of this development can now be seen in Halfway Across the Rubicon, his solo exhibition at PODIUM in Hong Kong.

For this new series, Xertu focuses on men in water. The photographic figures become part of a painterly process in which the image can distort and fade. At times, the body even seems to dissolve into its surroundings. The title refers to crossing the Rubicon, a decision after which there is no turning back. Halfway Across the Rubicon, by contrast, lingers in the moment just before: somewhere in the middle of the crossing, when the safety of the shore has already been left behind, but turning back still seems possible.