Glamour, 2024/25
Glamour
Cinematic ensemble.
Polyptych core. A majestic cluster of four images governs the scene –
Falcon, encompassing vast land, line of flight, sepia. Delirious poster girl, Luna, flickering through the night. Archangel, sheltering an owl, emissary of higher spheres. Emperor, motionless, yet gowned in opulence and anticipation. Mantling the floor, Penumbra, planetary kaleidoscope in shimmering threads.
Chanteuse in purple garment, scintillating at midnight, the neighbouring stars. To either side – Bouquet on faded silk/garlanding pelts, in apricot, Sweet. In native elegance, Plumes, sovereign, as head dress or wall décor.
Pariah, overseeing the wide stage from afar, blinded by melancholia.
.........
Glamour negotiates the archaic allure of the term, with its middle English/Old French origins, in the sense of enchantment or spell, evoking its celluloid iterations. As revery, in fluidity and flatness, the images withhold full legibility – flaring and fading, offering only intimations to the diffused inner eye. Archetype, spirit animal and ornamental pattern, painted or embroidered, in filmic constellation – the delirious narrative unfolds in metaphorical terms. Old Hollywood’s demi-monde, Kenneth Anger’s close-ups, Jean Cocteau’s shadow play, the prehistoric cave paintings of Chauvet.
Claudia Sarnthein, 2025
Glamour
Cinematic ensemble.
Polyptych core. A majestic cluster of four images governs the scene –
Falcon, encompassing vast land, line of flight, sepia. Delirious poster girl, Luna, flickering through the night. Archangel, sheltering an owl, emissary of higher spheres. Emperor, motionless, yet gowned in opulence and anticipation. Mantling the floor, Penumbra, planetary kaleidoscope in shimmering threads.
Chanteuse in purple garment, scintillating at midnight, the neighbouring stars. To either side – Bouquet on faded silk/garlanding pelts, in apricot, Sweet. In native elegance, Plumes, sovereign, as head dress or wall décor.
Pariah, overseeing the wide stage from afar, blinded by melancholia.
.........
Glamour negotiates the archaic allure of the term, with its middle English/Old French origins, in the sense of enchantment or spell, evoking its celluloid iterations. As revery, in fluidity and flatness, the images withhold full legibility – flaring and fading, offering only intimations to the diffused inner eye. Archetype, spirit animal and ornamental pattern, painted or embroidered, in filmic constellation – the delirious narrative unfolds in metaphorical terms. Old Hollywood’s demi-monde, Kenneth Anger’s close-ups, Jean Cocteau’s shadow play, the prehistoric cave paintings of Chauvet.
Claudia Sarnthein, 2025