Outcome 1
2 finished paintings / artworks can be made from any material, any size, any subject, however they must have a conceptual premise and this premise must be able to be identifiable within the works. You must be able to answer the below questions through the work made and considering how you can expand upon these initial paintings in Outcome 2 to be created later in the semester:
Suffer, Little Children
1. What’s the work about? Concept behind the work
The first painting of Outcome One, Suffer, Little Children is a distorted portrait of Mother Theresa, who is often used as a symbol for the charity of the Catholic church. This characterisation is a fabrication and is not a reflection of the saint, who is responsible for the proliferation of HIV and systemic abuse of Southeast Asian children. The first contact many queer people have with a rejection of their gender or sexuality is with religious entities that demonise non-normativity. The title is a sarcastic riff on the Bible quote, “Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.”
2. Why did you decide to make the work this way? What are you trying to say by making the work this way?
Historically, portraiture was a luxury only accessible to the upper classes. It was employed to display their status, framing the subject as aspirational or worthy of reverence. I have been trying to refine more traditional techniques in portraiture, however, I actively did not employ them with this painting to strip the subject, Theresa, of the reverence a portrait typically conveys. The paint on one side of the face is smeared downwards, as if hellbound. If the hell she believes exists, it is certainly her final destination.
3. What research have you done? Need to look at 3 artists and 2 theorists/philosophers and how they are linked with the Painting Series you have done?
My primary research subject, presented by Abigail Thorn and Judith Butler, was phantasms. This technical philosophical term refers to the projection of a false interpretation of something onto the subject of that projection. In this instance, Mother Theresa is the subject, with the phantasm being the manufactured public image that positively serves both Theresa and the Catholic Church she represents.
4. Where does the work fit within the research? What possibilities have come out of the work and research for future work?
This opens up the possibility of “disrespectful portraits”, presenting the subject in an ironic and satirical composition.
A Portrait of a Queen Who Never Said That
1. What’s the work about? Concept behind the work
The second painting of Outcome One is A Portrait of a Queen Who Never Said That, which depicts trans creator Natalie Wynn as Marie Antoinette. It draws parallels between the propaganda that preceded and followed the reign of the French monarch and the stochastic terrorism experienced by queer community in the modern day.
2. Why did you decide to make the work this way? What are you trying to say by making the work this way?
As mentioned in the prior work; my research subject was phantasms and I am attempting to refine traditional portrait techniques. Unlike the prior, I explored the more traditional techniques, attempting to emulate the process of Carravagio.
3. What research have you done? Need to look at 3 artists and 2 theorists/philosophers and how they are linked with the Painting Series you have done?
My primary research subject, presented by Abigail Thorn and Judith Butler, was phantasms. This technical philosophical term refers to the projection of a false interpretation of something onto the subject of that projection. The title of this painting refers to the famous quote attributed to Antoinette, “let them eat cake!” It was alleged that she exclaimed this when informed that the peasantry were starving. In truth, this quote was actually “let them eat brioches” in the Confessions of Rousseau, which he claimed was stated by a French princess. Firstly, Antoinette was a 9-year-old Austrian at the time of writing and secondly, was likely never said by anyone. However, the revolutionaries still used this and many other defamatory claims in the Libels (french publications that share etymological roots with the legal libel) to legitimise their campaign. In retrospect, these attacks had an incredibly misogynistic aura, projecting all the demons of the cultural zeitgeist of France. Much like Antoinette for the revolutionaries, transgender people in the modern age act as the vessel for the conservative campaign against social progress. Herein lies the phantasm of my research.
4. Where does the work fit within the research? What possibilities have come out of the work and research for future work?
Much like the prior painting, this piece opens up the opportunity for satirical portraits that can reframe historical and contemporary subjects.
