雅斯敏‧西松

Yasmin Sison's paintings are masking devices which can be viewed formalistically as an interplay of contrasts between reality and perceptual texture. Her method of painting approximates the gloss of photographs with the very materiality of paint itself. Within Into the Woods (Lot 2509), she paints a child frolicking in a dense thicket grove, exploring the hidden nooks of the gnarled tree root as if searching for lost treasure. The young girl is wearing a mask of a bear, seemingly attempting to put on a separate skin of strength, solitude and power, effacing her child-like demeanour when confronting the wilds of her imagination. However in her excitement at discovering her forested treasure, she has forgotten her mask and pushed it back to the crown of her head. Her beautiful, gauzy dress, resembling a Sunday best outfit, and half-slipped shoe portray a charming impression of an idyllic childhood, spent in languorous afternoons roaming the outdoors, no matter the parental reproofs which may occur thereafter. Sison also engages favourite themes of masquerade, play-acting, and the ultimately, the preservation of childhood innocence and delight.