PREVIEW: Joseph Badalov Sonnet 119: photography
Playing With Fire Joseph Badalov
11th-21st December 2012 Art Galleries Europe 18 Maddox Street, London W1S 1PL
Russian photographer Joseph Badalov’s first UK show, Sonnet 119, opens in London on 11th December 2012. Curated by Sabina Orudjeva of Artis Foundation, the exhibition comprises a series of images inspired by Shakespeare’s sonnet 119, also known as Siren Tears.
In these new works Joseph Badalov develops the theme of the Siren, a mystical creature in female form who suffers and raves in the ruins of the real world, wastes away in the darkness of night and tries to reach us through the looking-glass. Badalov’s works show an inconceivable number of spaces and times or, to be more precise, non-times, leaving the viewer the right to choose between reality and fantasy, to define the boundaries of the possible, to form their own theories of the creation of the illusion.
The effects in Badalov’s work are the result of experiments using mirrors, lenses, polythene sheeting, sand and flame. These unusual technical decisions allow him to achieve uniquely expressive images which are not in any way altered using computer editing.
The exhibition is supported by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Avilon and Prime.
About The Artist
Joseph Badalov was born in Moscow. He is a successful businessman who has also worked as a photographer for the past 10 years. Badalov’s work has been shown in Moscow and Paris. www.ibadalov.ru
Artis Foundation works to promote Russian artists at home and abroad and to bring innovative contemporary art projects to Russia. Artis Foundation 10 Ulitsa Burdenko, 119021 Moscow www.artisfoundation.com
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