The encounter between the works of Jana Coolen and Erik Haemers offers two earnest approaches to creative execution, each offering a distinct perspective on the search for purity. At their core, both artists draw from essential values that serve as the foundation of their respective practices, yet their methodologies create a contrasting dialogue. In Jana Coolen’s work, we find a collection of legitimate questions and sentiments, all striving toward an ideal of absolute clarity. Her (at times painfully) honest expression evokes a sense of wide-eyed purity, where the deliberately unfiltered nature of her elements holds a tension between opposing forces. This interplay saturates her work with an intimidating and raw sense of vulnerability. Within the artworks of Erik Haemers, clues of an absolute truth are revealed through carefully composed simplicity. His approach emphasises the fundamental elements of the simplest details through reduction, proving that such subtlety demands equal space and attention. A conscious focus on technique and precision further enhances the groundedness of his work, while also hinting at the possibility of a manufactured provenance. These two perspectives invite us to consider how a fundamental truth can be explored and articulated in vastly different ways—through unfiltered honesty or careful reduction—offering genuine insight into the essence of creative articulation. Hanna-Julia Erdosi