Whatever I Heard, I Kept It To Myself And Now a New Fear is Born
Whatever I Heard, I Kept It To Myself And Now a New Fear is Born - Каквото чуех, пазех го за себе си и сега нов страх се ражда
Schmincke oils on canvas
Size: 30 x 25 cm
Courtesy the author
Anton Terziev, 2023
Title credit: Svetoslav Todorov - writer, editor, correspondent
Collaborating since 2019
Part of No Time For Losers series of drawings, object, photography and paintings (2019-)
Photo the artist
Photo material used: Randy Couture's left ear
Anton Terziev’s Whatever I Heard, I Kept It To Myself And Now a New Fear Is Born confronts us with the raw intensity of both violence and genesis in a single, visceral image. By isolating the cauliflower ear of an MMA fighter in thick, impasto strokes of crimson, ivory, and umber, Terziev magnifies the ear into a topography that simultaneously evokes battered flesh and the rounded form of an embryonic vessel.
The palette—dominated by blood-red and flesh-toned whites—underscores the work’s duel of brutality and birth, while the heavy layering of paint recalls both the calloused skin of combatants and the protective sac of early life. Light and shadow carve deep crevices and swollen curves, suggesting wounds that speak of primal survival even as they cradle the possibility of new beginnings.
This close-up compels viewers to acknowledge our own fascination with violence: we see in the ear the trophy of conquest, yet its rounded dome also hints at vulnerability, fragility, and the perpetuation of life. The polarities of predator and progenitor coalesce into a single form that refuses easy interpretation, inviting a meditation on how our deepest instincts—aggression and creation—are inseparable facets of the human condition.