Ideology or the Literalising of the Figurative, 122 x 122 cm, oil on canvas, 2019. Photo by Docqment. — *Ideology or the Literalising of the Figurative*, 122 x 122 cm, oil on canvas, 2019. Photo by Docqment.

1919 Salon, installation view, Galerie pompom, Sydney. Photo: Docqment — *1919 Salon*, installation view, Galerie pompom, Sydney. Photo: Docqment

Installation view of The Secret Doctrine. Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne. 2019. Photo by Aaron Christopher Rees.

Niños mirando a la rata. Oil on canvas, 200 x 200 cm, 2018.

'Svetoslav S. aka Roderich Tuhn was an artist born in Battonya, a small village between the frontiers of Hungary and Romania. His style of painting changed throughout his lifetime for a diverse set of reasons. His subversive inclination regarding art and representation. Drawing his inspiration from various sources, including: media, propaganda [Social Realism] and even cubism, his styles changed rapidly while he used several pseudonyms and fake identities not only because of his radical art-thinking but due to his association with two extreme political ideologies: The Magyar Nemzeti Szocialista Párt [a Hungarian façade for the Nazi party] and the Communist party.'

Svetoslav S. is a fictional character and serves as a platform to question the construction of history, the use of memory and to further the discussion around art, politics and representation.

Text by Xiomara Zúñiga Salas:

The story of the life of Svetoslav S. is built in a space delimited by objects, images and voices. In spite of the attempt to hierarchize the memories, the memory is whimsical, its indecipherable and erratic structure repels any attempt of order. The archive of Svetoslav S. shows that the construction of a story is a product of a point of view, both individually and collectively. In the process, the act of suppressing memories and legitimating others, necessarily produces intentional, consensual, or forgetful silences.

Master, painter, assassin and traveller, the character's pictures show how the image is not enough to frame this life; its language is exhausted: how to translate a blow, the wake of doubt or remorse in a two-dimensional space, into an object, or in sounds? In the inventory of this story, how do we refer to things that cannot be grasped?

Costa Rica, 2017.

SCROLL DOWN FOR IMAGES

Carnage. Oil on canvas, 187,5 x 121,5 cm, 2017-2018.

Untitled ii, 191,5 x 254 cm, oil on canvas. 2018.

Untitled iii, 191,5 x 254 cm, oil on canvas. 2018.

Installation view of Phantasm, part of Waves group show, c3 Contemporary, Melbourne, Australia. 2017. Photo by Vivian Cooper-Smith. — Installation view of *Phantasm*, part of Waves group show, c3 Contemporary, Melbourne, Australia. 2017. Photo by Vivian Cooper-Smith.

Holzmann. 45,5 x 36 cm. Oil on canvas. 1944 [Restored in 2017]. Photo Aaron ReesThe image Holzman is one of the remaining works found in one of the many houses he lived in Central America. It has been restored and re-stretched for the current displa… — Holzmann. 45,5 x 36 cm. Oil on canvas. 1944 [Restored in 2017]. Photo Aaron Rees
The image Holzman is one of the remaining works found in one of the many houses he lived in Central America. It has been restored and re-stretched for the current display.

Drawing of ´Goldie´ was an example of the documents found on the secret locker room G-57 at the training facilities at ´Los establos del rey´ in the countryside of Aguachica, Colombia. Located in the southern region of the César Department. A partic… — ***Drawing of ´Goldie´*** was an example of the documents found on the secret locker room G-57 at the training facilities at ´Los establos del rey´ in the countryside of Aguachica, Colombia. Located in the southern region of the César Department. A particularly affected area during the armed conflict in Colombia between 1980 and 1990. This drawing was found underneath an old chocolate wooden-crafted box, full of gold teeth and rings.
***Drawing of Goldie***, 30 x 24, 5 cm. Pastel on paper, n.d.

Drawing of a head. 25, 5 x 20 cm, graphite on paper. n.d.When ´Drawing of a head´was found, it was believed to be Svetoslav´s [Roderich Tuhn] own portrait. After thorough analysis on the surface of the paper and a cross-examination with both experts… — ***Drawing of a head***. 25, 5 x 20 cm, graphite on paper. n.d.
When ´***Drawing of a head***´was found, it was believed to be Svetoslav´s [Roderich Tuhn] own portrait. After thorough analysis on the surface of the paper and a cross-examination with both experts and friends, it was established as the portrait of a boy who attended his studio regularly.

A4 Original Grid Sketch for Untitled, pencil and ink on paper, n. d.

Replica I. Oil on canvas, 198 x 152 cm. 2017 — **Replica I.** Oil on canvas, 198 x 152 cm. 2017

Replica I is as its title demonstrates, a replica of an artwork destroyed in a fire that consumed a great part of this character´s collection of paintings. This replica was made in 2017 and tried to be a reliable translation after a small scale study found in the house of famous Ricardo Friedrich (S.S. Hans Heidrich) in a small region in Argentina´s pampa. Two black and white xerox copies of the original painting were also found.

Phantasmagoria I. 198,5 x 188, 5 cm. Oil on canvas. 1938 [restored 2017] — **Phantasmagoria I**. 198,5 x 188, 5 cm. Oil on canvas. 1938 [restored 2017]

Phantasmagoria I. was one of the few paintings that were found almost entirely in good condition. It is currently being treated in a professional restoration lab to bring its original red tone to its surface. This painting marks the starting point in Tuhn's avant-garde explorations, which will cost him artistic anonymity.