Triptychs of Monstrosity
The Triptychs of Monstrosity are a series of UV Prints created from 2022 to 2023 which use digital collage and illustration to merge and recombine Greco-Roman sculptures in monstrous shapes. Inspired by their "castration" by Western-Christian puritanism, these cheeky collages give them exaggerated genitalia and place them in erotic situations. With backgrounds that combine luscious artworks of Baroque and Rococo art, the series presents a world of vivid colours and fantasy where sexuality and bestiality merge within a multitude of bodies. Printed on clear acrylic, and using the Christian-coded form of the triptych, the series are contemporary interpretations of stained glass iconography, offering windows into an inclusive world where sexuality and gender are freed from the binary austerity of a heteronormative society.
Each triptych uses sculptures from a different city, representing London, Paris and Rome. This is inspired by the "Grand Tour", a trip undertaken by the upper-class European men when they had "come of age". This custom is overturned through irony and represents instead a queer sexual and gender awakening beyond the censorship of political and religious indoctrination.
Medium: UV Print on Clear Acrylic, Wood Frames with Gold Leaf
Size: 1 374 x 442 mm each
Triptych of Monstrosity: Ludus – UV Print on Clear Acrylic, Wood Frames with Gold Leaf, 2023
© Lauric Mahé-Stephenson 2022