“My characters are always about survival. The figures are happy, mostly floating in some utopian stage of equality.”
—Genieve FiggisGenieve Figgis’ work scrutinises images of historic aristocracy through a delightfully macabre lens. The Irish artist’s source material varies from Rococo painting to archival photography, each with the figures reimagined in loosely applied paint, baring ghoulishly altered facial expressions. Family Portrait from 2013 is based on a photograph taken of King George VI, the Queen consort and the young princesses Elizabeth and Margaret in 1938, later used as the family’s Christmas card. The image, taken by Marcus Adams depicts the smartly dressed but casually posed. They are a united group, linked by hands or arms and convey the stability George VI aimed for following the scandal of his brothers’ abdication and his subsequent coronation the year before. Figgis’ figures mirror the composition, executed in a moody sepia palette but the faces are wildly distorted. The King and Princess Elizabeth’s eyes are punctuated with a swirl or green and purple and The Queen and Princess Margaret’s blend into the brown and beige tones of the background. Figgis’ approach can be seen as a playful reaction to the carefully constructed nature of the portrait and the notion of an idealised façade within the monarchy and aristocracy.
Link to the photograph: Marcus Adams (1875-1959) - The Royal Family, including Dookie, at Buckingham Palace, 20 December 1938 (rct.uk)
