Mirrored Histories: Courtesans, Saints and Sinners
Mirrored Histories: Courtesans, Saints and Sinners forms part of a series of work commenced in 2010 for the International Touring Exhibition
Nu Yishu Series V: Viriditas
Using multi media projections and mirrored dioramas, each photographic montage features iconic mythical heroine represented in the Western history paintings of Caravaggio. As metaphor for the ever changing environment and shifting possibilities encountered in contemporary life, each three dimensional tableaux isolates and reframes each of them into a fantasy space of heightened colour, shadow and mirrored reflections.
Notions of femininity and gender representation across time and space inform the work.
The central characters have been removed from their 15th century Renaissance narrative and given a 21st century photo opportunity. The heroines in this series dared to challenge convention and the stereotypical gender roles of their day. For me, they provide symbolic female archetypes that continue to resonate and act as mirror for contemporary woman.
My passion for the art of 15th century Italy, with its classical ideal of the 'master painting' that has captured the viewer's gaze for centuries, manifests as my own personal enquiry into time, space and memory. Issues of individual identity and the traditions of History painting in both Eastern and Western visual culture are especially relevant.
Liliana Barbieri © 2011
Nu Yishu Series V: Viriditas
Using multi media projections and mirrored dioramas, each photographic montage features iconic mythical heroine represented in the Western history paintings of Caravaggio. As metaphor for the ever changing environment and shifting possibilities encountered in contemporary life, each three dimensional tableaux isolates and reframes each of them into a fantasy space of heightened colour, shadow and mirrored reflections.
Notions of femininity and gender representation across time and space inform the work.
The central characters have been removed from their 15th century Renaissance narrative and given a 21st century photo opportunity. The heroines in this series dared to challenge convention and the stereotypical gender roles of their day. For me, they provide symbolic female archetypes that continue to resonate and act as mirror for contemporary woman.
My passion for the art of 15th century Italy, with its classical ideal of the 'master painting' that has captured the viewer's gaze for centuries, manifests as my own personal enquiry into time, space and memory. Issues of individual identity and the traditions of History painting in both Eastern and Western visual culture are especially relevant.
Liliana Barbieri © 2011