ARTIST STATEMENT
‘Beautiful Cadavers’ challenges the eroticisation and romanticisation of female death. The artworks are inspired by ‘Ophelia’. The first painting is a stereotypical portrayal of female death - beautiful, still and emotionless. The second portrays the same woman as a decaying corpse. Watercolour paint and coloured pencils help to juxtapose the romanticised version of female death with reality. Earthy tones create an organic and biological theme, with luna moths symbolising fleeting beauty due to their short life span. ‘Beautiful Cadavers’ prompts the audience to realise that death is not disturbing, it is merely the portrayal of an ugly woman that is.
ARTWORK PROCESS
Before creating this artwork, I examined how historical artworks portrayed female death. I decided to try to create an artwork that challenged how female death is portrayed. An initial sketch was created using myself and dead bodies as references. Watercolour paint was then used as a base then pencils were used to add tone. Tone was used to add dimension, however was also used to display passage of time through decay. The two paintings were made to contrast the romanticized portrayal of death with the reality that is not commonly shown in art.
