Women and water: solo exhibition

Date

2003-09-26

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Type

Other

Peer reviewed

Abstract

Description

Following on from earlier work on the female form and water, for example my 'Bathers' series, I wanted to revisit images of women and water produced by painters such as Degas, Bonnard, and Botticelli. My concept was to investigate the female nude form distorted by water by using photography, as compared to other artists who had used painting or drawing. By positioning the model under water, sensations of space and depth were uncertain and blurred for the viewer. In addition, an almost painterly effect was produced through the movement of the water displaced by the bodies and the play of light. Being a woman, I wanted to investigate how I could portray female nudes in water differently from these male artists, and show the female nudes as active, yet suspended in time and motion. A selection of this work was shown in a solo show at Galerie Kohinoor, Karlsruhe (September-November 2003) and then went on to the Karlsruhe Contemporary Art Show. More recently at the Design Biennale in Kosovo (2006) (winner of the special jury prize). I researched various locations and found pools in the South of France and in Sweden, which were without tiles, so that the figures would appear against a plain background. Tiles would have created a grid behind the figure, and I wanted to avoid this in order to produce a photograph that appeared more abstract from everyday contexts, and more dream-like. I asked friends and models to pose naked for me, after ensuring that they understood the purpose of the work and felt comfortable with this. I took 1000 shots and selected 50, which have been shown at various exhibitions.

Keywords

RAE 2008, UoA 63 Art and Design

Citation

MEREDITH-VULA, L.A. 26 September - 31 October 2003. Women and Water. Karlsruhe: Gallery Kohinoor.

Rights

Research Institute