About the Image

The duality of Woman or Bian lian

"Without a face" and "Woman painting woman" - which appeared earlier in the identity issue, here - are part of a series called "The duality of Woman."

Like the artists performing Bian lian, the ancient Chinese dramatic art of “changing face”, women are masterful at changing the masks because they (have to) redefine themselves with each age, both historical and biographical.

In “The duality of Woman” I explore the latent and the manifest (unconsciousness), what She chooses to show and what She conceals (consciousness). She is the classic example of the more you peel off the layers, the further away you drift from the truth.

What I find particularly interesting, as a psychologist and as an artist, is how the mystery is still there, the veil of mist still surrounds the woman, or the Woman - the symbol, even in this day and age of great psychological knowledge and mass-media influence. The audiences’ thirst for the Woman is far from being quenched.

- Sibel Catana, UK (profile + images)