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Things happen. Life happens. Turning points happen... Desires and Fires is a visualisation of life’s turning points whether brought about by a catastrophic event or self inflicted. Follow your desires and get burnt or follow your desires and be rewarded.. The figure is turning looking back or past the black text streaming behind. The billowing mane of hair evoking smoke against the heat of the intense oranges and pinks behind. Is this someone walking away from a fire or have they set the fire It’s also a visual metaphor for a creative turning point. Over time, artists if they’re lucky build audiences and, in turn, audiences build expectations of the artists. What happens when artists want to fulfill their artistic desire over their desire to fulfill their audiences expectations This period of artistic dilemma or transition is reflected by using the text from the film script to Federico Fellini’s film ‘Otto E Mezzo’, which translates from Italian to 'Eight and a Half', to create the central image of the female figure. The film, acclaimed as an avant garde masterpiece on it’s release in 1963, is a master study of Fellini’s own struggle to reconcile art, audience and integrity. The artwork’s association with the film is asserted by a film poster feel and the use of Fellini’s star Claudia Cardinale as the main subject. Cardinale hailed as the Italian Bardot at the time is a strong, intelligent and seductive actress in her own right. The addition of a bunny mask adds to a sense of playfulness and at the same time acknowledges visual themes in contemporary art. Desires and Fires is about the seductive and destructive qualities of desire and the seduction of change.. “Turn and face the strange ch.. ch.. changes..”
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