red army

CAROL

CAROL is the first piece of a series of portraits of redhead women called the Red Army. Using military motifs as an imaginary hierarchy, the series commends these women and places them into this utopian garrison. Apart from referring to the Russian army, the red alludes to the passion, seduction and sensuality and is a counterpoint to that the Western Church classifies as sin, since a halo elevates her from the mundane condition. Still addressing the russian elements, the firebird, traditional folklore's bird, illustrates the duality that this act reflects on its captor, bringing both blessing and doom. The blossoming flowers on the left represents the czar’s garden from which the golden apples were stolen by the bird and also, in a conceptual way, the natural growth of the character. EXPO encyclopedia botanica arch enemy arts - philadelphia, USA may 2-31 2014