Bullet Revisited #28 Triptych 2013

Lalla Essaydi made this photograph, “Bullet Revisited #28 Triptych,” using a camera and probably a lot of planning, building, and styling. The image is dominated by gold tones. You can see that the surface shimmers in that gilded way, creating a certain opulent feeling. Essaydi has built up the scene almost like a painting, composing the figures, the setting, and the surfaces in a way that feels both constructed and natural. There is so much gorgeous surface tension in the composition. This is not just a photograph but also an intervention, which is part of the feminist project of re-writing history. It reminds me a lot of how other painters compose interior scenes, playing with form and colour to create layered effects. Ultimately, artists are always riffing off each other’s ideas, cross-pollinating across time and place, and each artwork, in its own way, contributes something new and fresh to the conversation. The image’s meaning emerges from the layers of cultural and artistic references, which are complex.