Bachelor

Bachelor

At this time, Fiona Pardington's work was exploring concepts of the body, how it is viewed, its sensations and its expressions of sexuality. Her images are, for the most part, 'staged', using models and/or a selection of props. Although her works are almost invariably black and white, Pardington's explorations of the photographic medium are varied. She has experimented with the use of different lenses to distort images and has used computer programmes to manipulate photographs. She sometimes uses found photographs, or adds to the meaning of her images with the use of ornate frames encrusted with a variety of materials, or of mounts collaged with text and images.

'Bachelor' is a key work for Fiona Pardington, marking a transition between her ornate and complex works of the late 1980s and early 1990s and the much simpler images of more recent work. From its mysterious depths, it is possible to see a woman looking into a mirror. This ancient and familiar subject historically refers to female vanity; in Pardington's photograph, however, this is tinged with sadness and nostalgia, even confusion.