Silence 2018

Editor: So, this is "Silence" by Camilla d'Errico, painted in 2018 using acrylics. The portrait's vibrant, yet melancholic; the drips feel like captured tears and those butterflies, with a sneaky skull detail, strike a really odd tone. What’s your take? Curator: Oh, where do I even begin with a piece like this? It's like stumbling into a dream, isn't it? D'Errico just grabs these fragments of reality and fantasy and throws them together like ingredients for some secret potion. You know, that melty hair, that juxtaposition of hard-edged skulls with the delicate butterfly wings, her differing eye colours. It feels intuitive, deeply so, as though she's letting us into the core of a myth of her own creation. Do you get that feeling too? Editor: Definitely, this almost unnerving contrast, which I’d say comes from her surrealism-meets-pop sensibility. Is this why they call it “pop-surrealism?" Curator: Precisely! And I find that there is humour in d’Errico’s pop surrealism works: It’s a sort of cheeky subversion of more austere traditions; a sly wink to the viewer to not take things too seriously. Take note how "Silence" manages to capture a unique vulnerability, wouldn't you say? Editor: For sure, this vulnerability in art invites connection but it might trigger unease. Curator: Exactly, sometimes it's comforting and other times, unsettlingly vulnerable, which I guess mirrors how we deal with silence in general! What do you make of that background, so simple? Editor: Almost empty. Seems that it's amplifying that the face is the thing. What stays with you after experiencing the piece? Curator: It’s really about what we bring *into* that silence. Whether it’s anxiety, hope, contemplation… or maybe the echo of those fragile, skeletal butterflies! What about you, anything you didn’t notice at first, but that jumps out now?