All is Vanity

Oft shall death and sorrow reign (Versailles) by Ingrid Mida Digital C-print 2010, 16x20 framed

All is Vanity is the translation of the latin Vanitus Vanitum, a biblical reference to the transitory nature of life. This theme conveys the vanity of pursing earthly pleasures and accomplishments in the face of certain death and is the underlying premise for my upcoming show at Loop Gallery which opens on Saturday, January 22, 2011.

In this photographic series suggesting the haunted gardens of Versailles, I attempt to convey the journey and emotions of grief. Inspired by the work of Cindy Sherman, Sarah Moon and Deborah Turbeville, I have used soft focus, movement and filters to evoke a terrible kind of beauty. This series of ten black and white photographs pose the question of whether beauty and death are facets of the same experience.

The image above, entitled Oft shall death and sorrow reign, was taken in the gardens of Versailles,  a place which represents the pinnacle of vanity and excess. This photo is symbolic of an apocolyptic moment when life changes in a heart beat.  Catapulted into a journey of grief, you become a member of a club that you never wanted to join.

My familiarity with loss and death has given me a deep appreciation for the fragile and temporal nature of life. And creating beauty is a means by which I have cheated death. In the past, some of my work has been criticized for being too pretty and too impersonal. This work is anything but, and represents a big leap in my growth as an artist. Dark and haunting with me as the subject of many of them, it is about me, but not about me. The journey of loss and grief is a universal experience. 

All is vanity by Ingrid Mida 2010, Digital C-print,  28x34 framed,

I will be present at Loop Gallery for the opening reception on Saturday, January 22 from 2-5pm. Sometime that afternoon, Artsync TV will be interviewing me for a segment on their show!

I will also speak about my work during a Question & Answer Session at the gallery on Saturday, January 29 at 3pm, moderated by Lyla Rye. The show runs until February 13, 2011. For more information, please check the loop gallery blog or website.