A few strategic folds in the pages of a fashion magazine, a little peep hole or two, and voila, an eye-catching {no pun intended} series titled “Belladonna” by UK based artist Claire Pestaille:
“Belladonna or deadly nightshade is a perennial herbaceous plant that produces toxic berries that if ingested can cause hallucinations delirium and sometimes death. In Italian, belladonna means beautiful woman, however historically women who wanted to look more attractive and seductive used the juices of the berry cosmetically as an eye drop to enlarge the size of the pupil. The use of the toxic belladonna as an eye drop resulted in visual distortions, increased heart rate and prolonged use caused blindness…“
Simple. Clever. Strangely beautiful. Happy weekend.
What a sad and fascinating story behind these works…sad because women are still undergoing rather perilous and unnecessary procedures to increase attractiveness
Brilliant, these are such powerful works.
interesting collage work, quirky and clever! Thanks for sharing.
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