Technical specification: 2014 – 2015 one channel video, 2’53” and 3’46”, no sound
When it the 15 th century Italian art adopted the German style of depiction stemming from the scene of bewailing Christ, Vesperbild, or the “vespers image”, the term “pietà” started to be used to described them, meaning “pity” or “sympathy”. Kornelia’s video diptych refers to this well known iconographic motif, the image of Madonna with Jesus laid out on her lap. Popular in the past and nowadays. The artist, fascinated by iconography and meanings, decided to make her own interpretation of the subject. Two scenes presented separately as a single-channel video differ in one detail. In the first one, Madonna is dressed in a black burka, and Christ is covered up by black fabric. In the second video figures are naked. Both representations are a departure from the canon. The artist introduces the element of the Muslim culture and presents the model’s androgynous beauty, thus destroying the patterns resulting from iconography, art history, Christianity, and Islam. Patterns created by man. Video gave the artist the opportunity to treat depictions in a particular way. By keeping certain elements typical for stone sculpture, like monochrome, static equilibrium, the chiaroscuro effect emphasised by the fabric, or by presenting the almost alabaster skin of her models, the artist pays homage to the traditional form. Thanks to the introduction of time in the video, the figure of Madonna gained a compelling element – an “animated” look.
