ARTWORK DETAILS

Bella Rough Cavendish Road State High School
In Vain Painting
A women sitting under her portrait is reflecting on beauty, her hand is reflected in the mirror taking a selfie.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Beauty is a fleeting thing, and in being burdened with this knowledge of uncapturable moments we strive to capture them, regardless. In Vain, explores the impacts of preserving beauty on the individual, through the visual analogy of the relationship between art and artist. The focus is immediately drawn to the golden-framed portrait to the right, the opulent design signifying the value placed on this preserved beauty. The artist beneath represents the average individual who exhausts themselves by curating an image of beauty and perfection, and the hand holding a camera phone reflected in a mirror represents the public gaze.

ARTWORK PROCESS

By using my own portrait I create a personal context within the artwork and become part of the message I am trying to convey – I have altered my own appearance within my painting to make the work more “beautiful” or “perfect”. The portrait is in oil paints as it is what I imagine the artist depicted in the panting would have used, and by then painting the artist also in oil further communicates the role of the artist (and thus the authentic self) as subject to the perfected self.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Bella Rough

Biography not provided.