A goldsmith and analogue photographer respectively, Joy BC and Olivia Rose collaborate on a series of pieces about the 'Lovers Eye'. Taking influence from an 18th century craze by the same name (where miniature portraits of single eyes were exchanged by lovers as jewellery) Joy and Olivia have created a body of multimedia artworks that interrogates the source of photography and art making itself - the eye - which not only directly receives inspiration, but is one of an artists greatest tools in creating work. The exhibition includes art that can be worn on the body, alongside an edition of photographic prints.

Eye miniatures were a curious but brief anomaly in miniature painting - an extremely intense manifestation of an already emotionally charged art. This apparently was an attempt to capture 'the window of the soul', the supposed reflection of a person's most intimate thoughts and feelings. The notion accompanying this very short lived fad (c.1790 through 1820) was that the eye would be recognizable only to the recipient and could therefore be worn publicly keeping the lover's identity a secret.

Joy and Olivia have moved these themes into a more contemporary space, exploring the lover, the voyeur and the gaze from a female perspective, combining image and object to create a two way dialogue between looking and being looked at.

Making Eyes

Olivia Rose


2024


Hahnemühle photo rag prints


H 38.1 x W 30.48 cm 


Edition of 20 + 1 AP