The Picture Method

The Picture Method is what Jung later called Active Imagination. These works are images that have materialized by using this technique of fishing the unconscious mind. They grow and endlessly evolve over many years, often, if not always, into unexpected results. I’m surprised by them as much as you are.

It is only recently I started to recognize a thread running through them. Strangely, they consistently point to the same story of human suffering, sacrifice, death, displacement, spirituality, sexuality, etc. They are like a dream and I’m constantly attempting to understand the story. One thing I do understand is that they are alive.

Although I take great care to honour every mark and every detail, I’m finding that the longer I stay with the image the more of it disappears. Some of the pieces, the once I’ve worked on the longest, are slowly vanishing through methods such as burning, scratching, carving and gouging. For example, the image of The Disappearing Man which I have been working on for over 20 years is almost completely gone.

All images on display are unfinished and I will be working on each of them throughout the residency, giving form to imageless primordial experience. The process is endless and incorporates various nuances of my interaction with the viewer. Their input and their vision is a guide because this work is formed by the collective unconscious. I’m in a dreamlike state when creating and when I wake up I no longer “see” the image, except with the help of others. The visitors will be encouraged to contribute to the development of the work by observing, sharing their experience and thus we will form a meaning together.

About Milo Dlouhy’s Practice

My art practice is extremely isolating. I’ve spent thousands of hours hunched over a desk, gouging and scratching. Sometimes, I’m not sure if there is progress. In essence, my work is a reflection of a mental activity that entails an inner working of my imagination. But one can only look inwards for so long before going blind. This residency is an opportunity to look outward, to share what I dug up and to see if what I am creating strikes a cord with others.