Under the Influence
 
To be sober means more than simply being free from intoxication. It also suggests clarity, composure, reason, and self-possession. At least, that's what the dictionary tells us. But what happens when that seemingly stable definition begins to shift?
In Under the Influence, sobriety is no longer merely the opposite of intoxication, but a state of perception. What shapes the way we see, remember, react, or move through the world? Experience, emotion, memory, rhythm, space. Are we ever truly beyond their influence?
Through the prolonged repetition of brushstrokes until the paint is completely exhausted, through performative action and the audience's participation in sobriety tests, the artist transforms standardized procedures of measurement into unique, almost intimate drawings. Every mark becomes a record of presence, concentration, and deviation—a kind of imprint of a state that resists precise measurement.
By subtly shifting perspective, the artist strips familiar actions of their conventional function and opens them to new layers of meaning. The sobriety test no longer serves simply to determine sobriety; instead, it invites us to reconsider what it actually means to be fully present, fully aware, or "in control." The exhibition encourages viewers to reflect on the fragile boundaries between control and its loss, objective measurement and subjective experience.
Perhaps none of us is ever entirely free from influence.

-Dora Lucic