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My narratives function through uncertainty because pieces of information are left out; the painting begins and ends with how the viewer fills in the gaps. The staging of the figures, the common objects and identifiable materials within the frame come together to create a false sense of reality. “Busy Doing Nothing” is one half of a diptych that involves myself and my daughter in a direct nod to Michelangelo’s “The Creation of Adam.” Initially, photographing my family as a cast of characters for my paintings was due to their availability. Later, I realized that our stories were important to others “like us,” so I continue to use us as vehicles to describe a particular set of narratives. In the diptych, the figures become the same person in a way, with their physical closeness indicating a familial association. There is no clear indication as to who did what, whether the viewer acts as voyeur or participant, and the female body, exhibited simultaneously as immature and mature, becomes a transgressive spectacle to attract and repulse.

Felicita Norris

www.felicitanorris.com