Artist Statement

Loredana Faraon was born in Switzerland and now lives in England. She studied Fine Art at Oxford Brookes University, graduating with First Class Honours. Loredana’s practice is primarily based in sculpture, with shape, materiality, history, objects and shadows making up the main aspects of her work. Loredana’s most recent exhibition; Mapping Space was in Italy. In this exhibition Loredana showcased Mizbrook Series. A series of latex casts of an old farm on the outskirts of Surrey. To complement this Loredana made Medesano. Which is a series of latex cast of a traditional North Italian farm. Loredana use latex to directly casting different parts of the farms. In some ways Mizbrook Series and Medesano, is more about using latex as a camera caching a moment in time, in the surface of the building.

Mizbrook Series is a development of Truman Brewery 2009. Made from latex and a direct cast from a wall at the Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, London. Through casting the wall in a methodical routine. Loredana places emphasis upon something, which is normally ignored, thus drawing attention to the beauty often inherent in the mundane.

Loredana’s first commission; Eynsham Emporium was part of the Oxfordshire WinterLight festival. It was a window installation and an outdoor installation in the trees. The sculptures are made from acrylic, which were manipulated using extreme heat. By projecting light through these sculptures, creates a variety of unique shadows providing a wintry atmosphere, constantly changing through the day and into the night. The inspiration for the sculptures outside was to create continuity with the piece inside. For these external forms, inspiration was drawn from chandeliers and icicles to relate directly with the internal work. The atmosphere this project creates, gives the viewer a real sense of wintertime, with the pieces unique aesthetics and seasonal glow.

Additionally, as an artist Loredana Faraon is interested in the hidden parts of everyday life and the tracing of history, this is a reoccurring theme in her practice. In The Object Museum. The Museum contains a variety of cast objects made from latex stitched together. The latex skins are then filled with flour to form fragile representations of the originals. The idea behind the work is to explore the history of objects that have lost their design purpose and are now seen as antique.

Loredana’s practice has also been inspired by specific sites. For the last 3 years a manor house in Oxford, dating back to 17 century has provided the basis for new work. The first work that arose from this site Bricks where both old hand-carved and factory made bricks had been discarded. Casts were made of the factory bricks using latex and flour, the casts were taken back to the original site. Placing the original bricks next to the latex representations, offered a stark contrast, highlighting the difference between the hand-carved and mass-produced objects. Other work developing from this location was Headington History. This piece involved bringing the past to life for the present residents of the area. Images of one hundred year old photographs were projected onto the original location where they had been taken.

The audience should enjoy the visual experience of what they are viewing. In the cases of all the work described above, all the senses are important, not just sight but additionally touch. Every individual has their own perspective and they should have the opportunity to develop this. Art should not preach to spectators, but encourage them to look and think, and create their own independent interpretations of the work. Loredana’s role as the artist is to act as a prompt.