viralbandit
Evelyn Bencicova presents melodramatic figures and visual devices of repetition, considering perceptions of identity and expressions of emotion.
The series ‘Artificial Tears’ explores the subtle, uncanny melancholy characteristic of Bencicova’s work. As in her previous projects, the images appear loosely retro-styled and are starved of saturation, reduced to barely-there blues, greens and yellows. In this series, Bencicova’s muted tones are concentrated around the lone figure of a woman, who expresses quiet body language of despair, helplessness and sorrow. Bencicova stirs a presence of mystery around her subject’s identity and despondency by hiding her face in the majority of images. However, with the tendency to conceptually point at experiences under defined socio-political circumstances, Bencicova splashes the imagery of ‘Artificial Tears’ with visual signifiers of domesticity. This creates room for a sociological interpretation of the series, exploring the roles, expectations and pressures of a woman in society.
