Inspired by Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s Head of A Girl In A Green Dress [Elizabeth Siddal] (1850—1865),

Le regard seeks to address the intricacies of the image of women, subsequently adopting a critical view of the female condition. 

 

Following an initial study, the concept of the project was propelled by a desire to fragment the portrait of the woman with the ambiguous expression and to render her larger than life. As as result of a series of precise cuts and the hollowing out of matter, the woman’s face is revealed within sixteen wood panels painted black, arranged together to form a grid.

 

Compositionally, the sculpture is characterized by a dynamic relation between positive and negative space. The striking black of the panels contrasts with the white wall behind, enhancing the intervals between each row and column. The emerging grid evokes a window — or perhaps is it a cage? And what of this woman’s expression? She seems to simultaneously exude intensity and apathy. 

 

A duality arises between the imposing stature of the face and its confinement to the grid. The woman within is thus reduced to a prisoner of the onlooker’s gaze, objectified. Through this window, she is observed, scrutinized, even spied on, yet the opposite is just as plausible. Commanding in size, a piercing gaze etched upon her face, the woman’s reserved demeanour is intimidating in its indifference — she is the observer. By virtue of her elusive expression, the woman never fully reveals herself, allowing her to escape, to break free; she belongs to no one.