Ramina Saadatkhan
Bride, 2024
Mixed media and acrylic on canvas
90 x 100.5 cm
35 3/8 x 39 5/8 in
35 3/8 x 39 5/8 in
Copyright of the artist
Drawing on Ancient Egyptian imagery Bride (2024) features two central figures set within a flattened blue space. In the bottom left corner of the painting a diamond pattern motif, overlaid...
Drawing on Ancient Egyptian imagery Bride (2024) features two central figures set within a flattened blue space. In the bottom left corner of the painting a diamond pattern motif, overlaid with red and different shades of blue, recalls the great pyramids. The figure on the left is headless, the mound that protrudes from their torso crowned by a snaking line in red and blue that curves round like a tail to connect their standing legs which are collaged in pink and yellow paper. Two prominent breasts sit at the centre of the canvas – graphically drawn in a bold red outline they point towards the second figure. Shown in profile, as with the first figure, this one is more animalistic. A human body with the head of a beast, perhaps a ram or a dog, his tongue snakes out towards the breasts beneath, the red of the tongue contrasting against the black of his head and the blue background, whilst from the right corner his arms reach out towards the smaller figure. Bride is a confrontational work that explores power, vulnerability, desire and subjugation, within the contexts of myths, religions and everyday domestic relationships.
