This June, The Cynthia Corbett Gallery will present the largest solo photography exhibition to date by Dutch artist, Isabelle van Zeijl, at the Royal Opera Arcade Gallery, Pall Mall, from 24 – 30 June 2019, as part of Mayfair Art Weekend.
‘The Camouflaged Beauty of Fashion’ will bring together Isabelle van Zeijl’s varied body of enigmatic photographic self-portraits, which challenge the oppressive idealisation of beauty. The works take female archetypes of the past and sabotage them in the context of today, by referencing and merging imagery from a historical context, particularly works of the Old Masters, with modern-day consumer content. The result, van Zeijl’s unique female characters, confront notions of perceived femininity and the significance of aesthetics throughout history and society.
‘The Camouflaged Beauty of Fashion’ will display nearly twenty of van Zeijl’s large-scale photographic works. In addition to physical appearance, the pieces draw on a number of themes that come under the construct of beauty: fashion, nature and time. These aspects are also reflected through the artistic process, as van Zeijl collectively embodies the roles of: model, creator, object and subject, producing the entirety of the scenes independently, from the costume design and make-up, to the lighting and editing.
It is through this exploration and manipulation of the visual vocabulary of the past and the implementation of modern photographic technology, that her work possesses a timeless beauty, transcending the boundaries of epoch and media, whilst simultaneously tackling contemporary standards of aesthetics.
