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Artworks
Berni SEARLE South African, b. 1964
Mantle I (From the ‘Interlaced’ series), 2021Archival digital print on 308gr Baryta paper110 x 165 cmEdition of 5 + 2 APsInterlaced opens with an image of the artist shrouded in gold-coloured drapery. The performance unfolds slowly and lyrically, with subtle movements a veil of black lace is revealed, then skin,...Interlaced opens with an image of the artist shrouded in gold-coloured drapery. The performance unfolds slowly and lyrically, with subtle movements a veil of black lace is revealed, then skin, parts of which are covered by gold leaf. The body as a site of marks and meanings is integral to the practice of Searle. Here, with this performance, Searle is clothed in lace, a reference to both the Christian tradition of veiling, but also to the act of covering oneself in the Islamic tradition of the burka. Lace was also central to the history and trade of textiles in the medieval city of Bruges which formed the hub of Nothern European Commerce at the time. Searle’s own cultural heritage is reflected in the religious references, Searle’s paternal lineage being European, with Searle raised a Catholic against the backdrop of her maternal grandmother’s Muslim ancestry. At the time of shooting the video, the banning of the burka was also being legislatively tabled in many European countries.1of 2
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