Monday 23 April 2012

Bathroom Series

This series came about from two sources. One was a photograph by Francesca Woodman simply titled Bath. Its calm and beautiful while at the same time has a sense of unease. The bath can be read like the safe warm waters of the womb, or as a container much like a coffin. This duality interested me. The other source was my fascination with water and myths about mermaids. Mermaids are split creatures, one moment they are beautiful and alluring, the next they are dangerous and deceptive. 

I was also thinking about the amount of time spent in a bathroom, the processes that go on there, the beautification, the mastery of such skills. The word 'Glamour' means to disguise, or appear. Appearance or rather fixation on appearance has played a big part in my work. Mermaids typify the value we place on appearance. Yet they are mysterious, who knows what they get up to and where they go. The tricks that take place in the bathroom are far less mysterious, they are down right laborious and boring.

It occurred to me, what if a mysterious and vicious mermaid was plucked from her mythical realm and plopped in to an everyday urban bathroom. How would she feel?  







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