Ruttkowski;68 and Wombat are pleased to present Fantasy nightmare reality: waging onwards mental battle against treacherous images created by masters.

The only way to deal with a unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.

(Albert Camus)

What if you knew nothing about the author behind a work of art? Does that matter/should that matter? Where is the line between creative and creation drawn? Wombat’s work speaks for itself, though it is clearly rooted somewhere else. Paintings that are born of this world but not limited to the confines of it. Complex yet inviting, violent yet warm, works that leave a breadcrumb trail for future generations to know that this is life in 2026. Phrases such as System of suffering, Industrial suicide, and Torture within, painted in stark black, white and various shades of grey suggest witness to a world on fire, a warning shot that this time we might have bitten off more than we can chew and, simply put, we are all gonna die…and what’s wrong with that?

Death and despair are constant themes in Wombat’s work. Skulls, gas masks, smoke stacks, love making and drug taking. Celtic knots known for the representation of an endless cycle of life, death, and rebirth frame the chaos in a connective tissue that spans through out all of Wombat’s work. Another reoccurring symbol is the ever-present White Dove, a messenger of hope and peace. Perhaps unexpected but greatly needed. In these turbulent times hope can feel like a luxury, but without it all is lost. Hope can produce and contribute and connect with others. Hope can make survival in an unfair world seem like worthy pursuit. Hope and negativity go hand in hand: black, white and various shades of grey.