installations and drawings
Silvia B.’s meticulously crafted sculptures aim to seduce viewers with aesthetic indulgence yet reveal disturbing visions of entities that fuse elements of the human, the robot and the animal kingdom. These hybrids owe as much to our animal ancestors as to cutting edge medical technology. As the Rotterdam based artist says: “I work on the borders of beauty. Fusing conflicting elements, the sculptures question our current concept of aesthetics”.
La vie est si gênante, Part II (1998) is an installation project of an ever-growing collection of animal curiosities. Animal parts transformed for mass consumption into knickknacks, fashion accessories and all manner of paraphernalia intended to prettify our bodies and our homes are combined without any hierarchy with her sculptures of innocent baby-faces. These are hard to distinguish from all the wonderful little trinkets that delight and shame us, querying our bloody relationship with our fellow creatures.
Almost Perfect (2004) presents a skinny teenager, nude, in high-heeled black Japanese sandals. Her skin is sutured together, like some sleek designer cat suit, the stitching more emphatic on her face with its fashionably oversized lips. Her pose is stilted, self-conscious of her budding breasts and tiny penis.
Two tiny tots, little sisters holding hands, are very, very black: long black hair, long black eye-lashes and soft curly black lamb skin. Turned towards each other with their eyes closed, they isolate themselves from the rest of the world. They are called Les bêtes noires (2000).
Les bêtes noires will be shown in the kloone4000 exhibition.
"I know there is a family in South America that has a furry skin
like theirs. I think they are in a research-program to find the genetic
abnormality. The information could be useful to combat boldness and could
tell us about our ancestors?
The little girls are also a unity, they seem to share things not only
on a physical level, but also psychologically and we are shut out by them.
This is believed to be true for twins. How would that be for clones?"
(Silvia B.)
Silvia B. maakt levensechte kinderen van leer en andere harige dierlijke
materialen. In een installatie in het CBK Groningen combineerde zij allerlei
curieuze opgezette dieren van rommelmarkten met sculpturen van onschuldige
kindergezichtjes. Door dezelfde onmondigheid en kwetsbaarheid bestaat
er een verbinding in de situatie van kinderen en dieren. Een gevoel van
ongemak en grote aantrekkingskracht. Haar freakachtige vrouwenbeelden
roepen vragen op over schoonheid.
Silvia B. woont en werkt in Rotterdam. Zij volgde sinds 1983 een opleiding
sculptuur/mode-ontwerp aan de kunstacademie in Rotterdam. Naast exposities
maakt zij ook werk in opdracht, zoals het recente Ultra beeld in Groningen.
website: www.silvia-b.com
