In the New Testament, specifically in Luke 1:26-38, the iconic story of the Annunciation is introduced.
The thousands-year old Biblical virgin insemination mythology, although physically impossible, still directly correlates to contemporary unrealistic social standards for many women globally. Some would even argue that this very mythology has helped to produce these sexist and misogynist ideas about gender and sexuality that permeate many of our lives. In large-scale oil paintings, I wrestle with the weight of these expectations, through exploring this archetypal biblical story. Influenced by the height of Christian iconography - Italian Renaissance art history - my work aims to examine the ways I am drawn to the subject of the bed because of its everyday representation of freedom within privacy, as well as its iconographical connection to the Annunciation scene.
I use colour and co-opt traditional and familiar Renaissance stylised painting to pull the viewer in with an initial discourse on beauty. By shifting the narrative of the male gaze, and focusing in on the subject of the bed as a signifier of the female experience and space of conflict, I compel my audience to acknowledge the actual political statement about women’s bodies and the potential trauma and oppression inherent in the original story and its visual representations throughout time. I use oil paint on stretched canvas because it allows me to express my beliefs through line and mark-making. The blending effect that is unique to oils gives me the ability to achieve Renaissance-like style. By combining contemporary direct painting (mixing colours on a palette and directly applying to the canvas) with the traditional Renaissance techniques of indirect layers and glazing, I strive to align my medium with my conceptual thinking. Utilising the historic medium allows me to re-present the themes from the Renaissance within my own narrative.
Space, as a formal exercise and conceptual premise, is important in my paintings, as I aim to discuss the differences and unsuspecting similarities between both private and public space. Is there truly such a thing as private space if social standards and constructs permeate our bedroom walls? Is there any place that we can truly be ourselves, the most authentic, naked, just-born selves that have not yet been exiled from Eden? Perhaps I am attempting to find this dream space through my paintings.