Visual artist Delprat’s work comes from her first period of painting, in which dark, dreamlike images are characterised by the dominant colour of black, the contrast between broad gestures and graffiti-like imagery. Inspired by travels, visits to ethnographic museums and the study of literature, she says of African and Pacific primitive tribal art: “Their images, their objects ... inspire and teach me something essential.” She often uses mythological stories to blend familiar elements with those that seem out of place. Her basic insight is that painting is experienced through the body. She is deeply influenced by ancient cultures, quoting and sometimes even imitating them. Through a process of reinterpretation and integration, she recreates a code system of motifs, drawing on different periods and traditions of the artistic heritage to suggest a new rite, not free of violence or sexuality. In the background of this new mystery, the subversive figure of evil looms as a symbol of the artist. The frequent depiction of death, masks and alchemical signs form the often grotesque ‘inappropriate’ images of this period.
Andrea Tarczali