Madonna 2010                            page en français

Madonna is a living tableau that explores femininity and race in its multiplicity of forms and stereotypes, based on the figure of the Vierge Noir. These “Black Madonnas,” enigmas from the Middle Ages, have been explained as the product of an accident: the wood’s tainting by candle smoke, and the protective covering of gold paint with soot for safe transport.

 

The Virgin’s color held specific significance in the Catholic Church, relating it to the Bible passage from the Song of Songs 1:5 in the Old Testament: “I

am black but comely, Oh daughters of Jerusalem.” Others suggest that these Madonnas recalled the Egyptian goddess Isis or the pagan Earth goddess Gaia, a manner of transposing Christianity onto sites of pagan worship.

 

Fascinated by the surreal exoticism of the Black Virgin portraits and the intense golden colors framing their suggestive silhouette, Ms. Bland presents this solo as an opportunity to discuss our shared humanity.

 

By looking at this image from a new perspective, we are freed from the limitations of the past to celebrate the unique quality and color of our own skin.

Decor: (350 meters of golden tulle): Stefanie Batten Bland

Lighting Design: Manu Majastre

Music: Mathieu Werchowski