A cacophony of stuffed animals dramatically spot-lit onto a wall to form a portrait silhouette of the late fashion icon Isabella Blow has been acquired by the National Portrait Gallery. The unusual portrait made of 15 taxidermy animals (including birds, a rat and a snake), wood and fake moss, together with a heel from one of Blow's own Manolo Blahnik shoes and her trademark lipstick, is a vivid combination of sculpture, installation and light projection.
In the resulting silhouette of a head, Isabella Blow appears to be wearing one of the extraordinary hats designed for her by Phillip Treacy, which often featured taxidermy. The artists were fascinated by what they saw as Blow's gothic quality and chose to depict her head as though on a stake, incorporating a raven and the species of rat associated with the Black Death.
The work has been donated to the Gallery by the estate of Isabella Blow, who died in 2007, and the artists Tim Noble and Sue Webster who created it from life in 2002. The result of their friendship with Isabella Blow, this is the only portrait by the artists of a person other than themselves.
‘The portrait encourages us to reflect simultaneously on beauty and death,' says Rosie Broadley, Associate Curator of Contemporary Collections, National Portrait Gallery, London, ‘which embody Blow's own complex preoccupations.'
No comments:
Post a Comment