Bullet #15 2014

Lalla Essaydi made "Bullet #15" with photography, I guess as a palimpsest of painting. I wonder what it was like for her to construct this image, layer by layer, bullet by bullet. Is she trying to make an image, or is she trying to find her way through it? I feel the labor and time involved in this piece. There is a woman in the center of the frame, who is holding a balance scale. The model and the background are covered in what looks like bullet casings. It makes me think about beauty, violence, and the way a painting has both of these elements. Maybe that’s why Essaydi decided to make her pictures like this. Painters have been using different materials to create art for years. By using bullets in her picture, Essaydi is talking to a lot of artists. Painting always lets us ask questions, and never offers a solid answer.