Magda Matwiejew’s forthcoming exhibition Moonlight and Wax comprises a series of twelve photographic digital prints and a moving image Morphette.
Moonlight and Wax is a term used to describe the pale and perfectly textured skin that was painted by artists such as Adolphe Bouguereau in the latter half of the nineteenth century. The exhibition is thus an exploration of the representation of the female figure throughout the canon of art history dealing with notions of femme fatale sexuality, vamp imagery, death, beauty, temptation and voyeurism.
In Morphette ‘Matwiejew utilises a contemporary ideal of the sexualised woman through the technique of 3D-modelling and game culture. This virtual aspect via the techniques of tweening and morphing with the use of textured polygonal models, has replaced the original use of stop motion and Matwiejew’s previous use of live models. With a combination of 3D and 2D and frame-by-frame animation of illustrations, women are depicted as virtual 3D models and objects of desire’.
Rich and complex in their imagery, Matwiejew’s digital prints further question the representation of the female form. Bird-Woman speaks to the turn of the century teachings of Charles Darwin of the female as an inferior biological subject; a creature that is quite unlike its male counterparts. Darwin’s teachings suggest that the female sits outside the ‘civilised’ human world. Matwiejew’s practice questions these narratives by placing these ideas in contemporary contexts.
Matwiejew’s work has featured in many prominent digital art festivals and awards, both locally and abroad. In 2014 alone her work was shown at Vienna Independent Shorts, Vienna, Austria; MEDIAWAVE International Film Festival, Fort Monostor, Budapest; ANIMFEST Athens International Film Festival, Athens, Greece; Chilimonos International Animation Festival, Santiago, Chilli; AVIF Art Film Festival, Cannes, France; and Cinewest Shire International Film Festival, Sydney, Australia.
*image (left)
courtesy of the artist and Karen Woodbury Gallery
