Sam Jedig: Power, Masks, and the Mirror of Humanity

Sam Jedig's artistic practice spans from the late 1970s to the present and is characterized by a continuous exploration of power, identity, and illusion. Through series such as Wish You Were Here, Faces of Stones, and MASK, Jedig examines human existence and societal structures. His works combine painting, collage, mail art, and installation, drawing on a rich artistic heritage that connects modernism with contemporary art.

Alienation and Passivity – The Early Years
In the Wish You Were Here series from the 1980s, Jedig depicts humans as egg-shaped, robotic beings trapped in a state of collective passivity. These works reveal a world where technology and social structures have reduced the individual to an empty symbol.
This critique evolves in later works, where skinless figures confront the viewer with humanity’s anxiety and raw existence. The egg is broken, and we see directly into ourselves – without filters, without illusions.

The Mask as Symbol and Mirror
In the MASK series, the mask becomes Jedig's central motif. The mask functions as a mirror of individual and societal constructions of identity – both as protection and as imprisonment. Works such as Faces of Stones and Unknown Heroes address the silence and anonymity left by power. The mask reflects our role in the game of power, capturing the duality between independence and control.

Stamps and the Repetition of Power
In works like the Dictator series and Stamps Side By Side, Jedig deconstructs the iconography of power through stamps. The stamp – often a tribute to national identity – becomes a symbol of repetition here. Dictators such as Hitler and Franco are trapped within their own iconographies, reduced to textures and patterns. This approach evokes associations with modern strategies of repetition and a critique of

propaganda’s grip on history.

Masterpieces and Artistic Significance
In Last Supper from the MASK series, Jedig consolidates his themes in a single composition. The figure in the red robe, surrounded by puppet-like masks, symbolizes both victim and creator in the theater of power. The work, referencing Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper, highlights a poetic yet grim reflection on illusion and humanity's longing for truth.

A Continuous Awakening
Sam Jedig’s art is a persistent invitation to wake up – to look beyond the veil of illusion and understand our role in the constructions of power. His works function as mirrors, confronting us with both our own existence and the systems we help sustain. As Walter Benjamin described history as an eternal now, Jedig’s works create a timeless reflection. They compel us to ask the most important questions: Who are we? And who pulls the strings?

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