Dimensions: 50x65cm / Charcoal and graphite drawing
Original photography by Richard Avedon. Photo touch-up and extremely contrasted. This artwork was made as part of the 11th edition of the Biennale of Contemporary Art in Lyon named “A terrible beauty is born”. The elderly person is a former slave, her suffering is engraved in her face through the marked wrinkles.
The portrait reflects a certain kind of beauty reflecting the human condition. The feelings are mixed: attraction or revulsion? The intensity of the painted surface is reinforced by its opposite: there is no light without shadow. The concept works around the contrast and opposition between black and white. Alternately, one absorbs, circumvents or covers it, while the other reflects, resorbs or returns.
«Elle délimite catégoriquement, cruellement deux régions de l’être, deux terres humaines : l’une où toute l’énergie des hommes se cristallise en un dur caillot noir de souffrance et d’exploitation, et l’autre où elle s’étiole, blancheur livide d’une impuissance crispée sur le pouvoir de sa brutalité.»
Jean-Paul Sartre
GRAPHIC TRAFIC 