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 |  | Until 31 May 2003, Dominica Vaughan is exhibiting a range of her work in an exhibition organised by Satty Sira at The Gallery in Earlsdon.
The exhibition is the first retrospective of the artists' work, including the painting which won Vaughan the first prize at the Leamington Spa Open in 1999.
Here, Nick Smale discusses Dominica Vaughan's work.
Beyond Skin
| Μύ |  | Untitled (1999)
Leamington Spa Open Winner 1999
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Vaughan's colour studies for her Beyond Skin Series of paintings are the most seductive images in this show, not only for their colour, the blue greens, delicate orange tints and glowing reds, but also for their composition and the sensitive and expressive handing of the oil medium.
The mood and posture of these youthful, adolescent images are close to that of models in some fashion magazines. With the blue eye-shadow and frizzed out hair, which draws attention to but at the same time hides part of the face, the model is self-consciously projecting a seductive image of herself.
| Μύ |  | Beyond Skin 1
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In Colour Study for Beyond Skin 1, there is direct eye contact with the viewer; the look challenges but is also seductive. It is alluring but also guarded. The young woman wants you to look at her.
She not only depicts what is youthful and desirable, to be emulated by her peers, but also hints at her vulnerability. A more reflective and introspective mood is created in Colour Study 1 for Beyond Skin 3, and Colour Study for Beyond Skin 2, where the head is turned away from the viewer and the eyes closed and lowered.
| Μύ |  | Colour Study 2002 (Beyond Skin 1)
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This pose, although more passive, still projects an alluring image. These works are about female adolescence and techniques of seduction. Since Vaughan used her own daughter as a model for these works it seems possible that the artist has projected herself into these images, at a time when her daughter was herself recapitulating the mother's adolescent years.
Resurrection
Turning from the theme of adolescence, Head 1, Resurrection Series, depicts the half buried or half uncovered head and shoulders of a woman.
Resurrection might be intended to mean simply an archaeological excavation; the face is reminiscent of the miraculously preserved human bodies that have been discovered in Irish peat bogs.
| Μύ |  | Inner Rhythm V111
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In Head 1, the eyes and the lips look as if they are sealed and the nostrils plugged, in accordance with beliefs and customs of ancient burial rites.
Although this is the only image of Vaughan's Resurrection Series in the exhibition it seems that her primary concern is with renewal and symbolic rebirth. In this context Head 1 could represent the death of the old self. The painting, Beyond Skin 3, may symbolise rebirth.
The lower halves of the two nude female figures are obscured by an undifferentiated textural area of intense colour, out of which the figures rise, phoenix-like.
In Beyond Skin 2, the two figures are almost mirror images of each other, but are differentiated; one is a mature woman and the other still a girl in her early teens.They seem to have emerged from a single form and are on the point of separation. Their heads are averted from one another and the eyes still closed.
Other works
| Μύ |  | Head I - Resurrection series
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Of the other works, four are charcoal drawings and four untitled paintings. The latter predate the Beyond Skin Series by several years, and in contrast to them, focus attention on the female body. Vaughan gives a convincing fleshy realism to these nude bodies. In two of the paintings the women are depicted dancing.
See more of Dominica Vaughan's work by following her profile link on the top left.
Exhibition details
The Dominica Vaughan exhibition is on at The Gallery, 20 Earlsdon Street, Earlsdon, Coventry until 31 May.
For further information call Satty Sira on 07813 015939.
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