MAISON MALENA
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Malena · Forms of Presence

The Returning Gaze

A gaze that finds its way back.

An oval mirror takes the place of a face, surrounded by flame-like forms. Painted gestures hold the traces of touch below it. The person looking becomes part of an encounter that is never quite the same twice.

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Materials

Acrylic on canvas, mirror insert

The full story

Awareness / Visibility / Sovereignty

An oval mirror takes the place of a face, held within a crown of flame. Below it, red bodily forms and handprints retain the evidence of touch. The artifact's legend becomes present with each viewer: a gaze returns to itself, and being seen becomes an act of self-recognition.

Proposed accompaniment

Mirror Practice

A Face Returned

A quiet sequence of looking, conceived for the mirror already held within the painting. The keeper pauses before their reflection and names one quality to carry into the next encounter.

Conceived as a separate companion to the painting. Its form and inclusion are to be agreed individually.

A closer look

A study of the surface

A slow passage across the real details of this painting, composed from its photographs.

Music credits

Erik Satie · Gymnopédie No. 1
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) · CC BY 4.0
Excerpt with fades and adjusted volume.

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