LAURA CERRITELLI

12 STUDIO ARTS

BELIEF

Signal: Interrupted

For this artwork, I wanted to portray the confining nature of patriarchal society. I contrasted the black background with the colourful and distanced female figure to present the idea of an egalitarian society. I choose to link the idea of machinery to men, the idea being interrupting the stereotypical ideas of society and societal norms. Furthermore, I choose to paint the female figure naked and faceless to show the universality of female experience and return power back to females, commenting on the oversexualised portrayal of females in the media and reality. The artwork employs the use of black ballpoint pen on paper and acrylic paint on an acrylic sheet. This helped me to create a range of tones and variations of depth while maintaining a high contrast.

Origin

For this project, I wanted to portray the concept of male control over women stemming from the beginnings of time. I chose to create a timeless fantasy world. The snakes within the painting reflect on the story of Adam and Eve while the faceless woman stands in a position of power over all of them. This is to criticize the idea of females as wrong doers and seductresses. I chose acrylic paint as it helped me to get a flat and even coat of paint over each layer which helped me to build depth and colour. I also used acrylic on the glass as it wouldn't crack or crumble off. I chose the idea of floating glass panels as I wanted the figure and snakes easily distinguishable from the background. This also created a fractured look of the painting when looked at at certain angles, which aided in my idea of subverting gender norms and changing society from a patriarchal one.