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Archie Bayot
As Jonathan Schroeder notes, ‘to gaze implies more than to look at. It signifies a psychological relationship of power in which the gazer is superior to the object of the gaze.’ My recent series of paintings explores the notion of psychological tension between the viewer’s gaze and the subject. By questioning the relationship between viewer and painting, this series explores the dynamic of the “gaze” by replacing the essentially faceless subject’s eyes with a camera. Conceptually steeped in historical references, specifically Manet’s radical work Olympia, these paintings build on the inspiration yet attempt to push beyond the strength of the reciprocal gaze to the further complicated “controlling gaze” of the camera. The viewer usually enjoys a dominant power role over the subject image. Here, however, it is subverted as the viewer is confronted by the scrutiny of the subject’s camera lens. Viewing this work is hopefully an experiential43 process for the viewer, who is challenged by the painted image.
These works are not political and are also not overtly social commentary; however, I am placing the female model in a dominant role, which affects the reception of the work. Whereas women in art in the past have generally been submissive subjects, my works turns that upside down somewhat. I am also questioning the notion of beauty in terms of - is beauty really in the eye of the beholder or is it in the eye of the person who has power, i.e. media, television, magazines, who shape popular culture and society’s notion as to what beauty is. In using the camera as an extension of the model and photo-realism as an illusory technique I am referring to the present and the future, the post-modern.
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