Mirror Stage Redux: Paintings by Tricia Wright

Late Mirror Stage Series:

Late Mirror Stage is a reference to the developmental phase in infancy when we first become aware of the self as a separate and individual identity; the French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan termed this the “mirror stage”. These paintings consider what it means to look in the mirror as adults, acknowledging the passage of time and the elusive nature of identity.

Each canvas depicts an ornate Baroque frame whose elaborate form has been modified and distilled; each frame contains the reflection of shadows or the passing effects of light. The solid body of the frames are reduced to flat schematic outlines while the formless shadows are painted as though real and present, a visual paradox that reverses material and immaterial, echoing the paradoxical nature of temporal life.

These paintings frame and celebrate unexceptional domestic moments, fragments of time encapsulated in the quivering shadows of leaves or the fleeting patch of light on a bedroom wall. Such commonplace objects like light fixtures or window blinds connect to my broader interest in domestic spaces, which underscores my practice.

- Tricia Wright