Patrícia Reis

O BANHO DE PATRÍCIA, 2007 | Lambda print on pvc, 110x140cm

The title O Banho de Patrícia refers to the myth of Diana and Actaeon, and departs from representations of the mythological narratives, resumed during the Ancient Regime by painters such as François Boucher or Antoine-Jean Gros. In the photograph, the viewer progresses in space and arrives to the place where someone is taking a bath. Although we are entering someone’s intimacy, and although our gaze is indiscreet, almost voyeuristic, she who is being observed is aware of it. The character that is being watched confronts the viewer. This shift in the position of the gaze, from the control or the power between the observed (the woman) and the observer (the man), signals the renovation of the classical representation in a present context, and also the use of the photographic support, the casual untidiness of the space, and of the summoning of the several planes that precede the centrality of the image. In close relation with reality, distant from the metaphorical representations of mythological scenes, is another image by Jacques-Louis David: La Mort de Marat. The painter, a friend of the revolutionary leader, was with him at the time of his death, and painted the picture on an impulse, including only the elements that were absolutely necessary to portray the contemporary situation. The proximity that the viewer establishes with this character places him in a game of gazes not dissimilar to the mise en abyme triggered in the photograph of Patrícia Reis: the point of view of the one who entered a private space is replaced by our own gaze.

Born in Lisbon, 1981

EDUCATION

2006/2007 Advance Course in Visual Arts Maumaus – Escola de Artes Visuais, Lisbon
2004 BA in Fine Arts ESAD, Caldas da Rainha

COLLECTIVE EXHIBITIONS

2007 MEGHívÓ, Exchange Budapest Galeria, Budapest
2005 Passo Próximo, Galeria Cubic, Lisbon
2005 Artistas Convidados, Bienal de Cerveira, Centro Cultural de Paredes de Coura
2005 ESAD04, Centro Cultural Emmerico Nunes, Sines
2004 + Olhares, Filmes à hora certa, Chapitô, Lisbon
2004 Exposição de Finalistas ESAD04, Antigas instalações do edifício da fábrica CERES, Caldas da Rainha
2003 Casa 31, in a private appartment, Caldas da Rainha
2003 Video Exchange/Permuta de Video,New York University, Steinhardt School of Education, Department of Art and Art Professions, Nova Iorque

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