Pygmalion’s Prize
Inspired by the classical myth of Pygmalion, this series examines the relationship between desire, representation, and the idealised body. Through staged photographic constructions, the work reflects on the impulse to create, control, and perfect images of beauty.
The figures appear simultaneously objectified and animated, echoing the mythological narrative in which an artist’s creation becomes the object of his own desire. This tension produces images that feel poised between life and artifice, evoking the uncanny boundary between the human and the constructed.
Through references to classical mythology, art history, and contemporary visual culture, the series reflects on how ideals of beauty continue to shape the ways bodies are represented and valued.
Pygmalion's Prize I
Pygmalion's Prize II
Pygmalion's Prize III
References
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The Venus of Urbino by Titian — often associated with ideals of beauty, sensuality, and the dynamics of looking.
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The Rokeby Venus by Diego Velázquez — a work often read in relation to beauty, reflection, and the act of seeing oneself through the gaze of others.
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Olympia by Édouard Manet — often understood as a confrontation with the viewer, challenging conventions of the nude and the power of the gaze.