FLORINE DEMOSTHENE
THE CAPTURE
MOMO GALLERY JOHANNESBURG
06/08/2015—04/09/2015
The Capture Series, 2015.
About:
In her show, titled The Capture, Demosthene sets on a mythical quest to recreate society’s views and understanding of the black female body, depicting herself in various narratives and allegories. The visualized black female bodies in Demosthene’s artworks are provocative, sexual and enticing.
Florine Demosthene explains: “Images do not prompt me to create, words do. I spend an inordinate amount of time reading, writing and researching, before approaching the canvas. When a particular concept intrigues me, generally I will be influenced by reading an essay or article, rather than observing art. My artwork navigates between stereotypes and representation. It magnifies the subtlety of racial constructs and how viewers have become comfortable with derogatory images. My work seeks to examine how black culture is codified and commodified”.
The Capture Series, 2015.
Demosthene is piqued by the physical size of the black female body and how her physicality dictates a certain set of ideals and behavior. Borrowing from Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver Travels, Demosthene chronicled her journey through the Caribbean and West Africa in a series of drawings titled: The Capture. The drawings created during these travels, depict voluptuous female figures amid a strange world of decay and destruction.
The Capture Series, 2014.
In her show at Gallery MOMO, Demosthene extends these chronicled works into a mirage of symbolic push and pull. The works capture and repel, but always intrigue the viewer into a mythological world not clear or known.
The Capture Series, 2010.
Courtesy: MOMO Gallery Johannesburg.