Rinconografia.
From the Greek εἰκονογραϕία which signifies an illustrated representation and the Italian “rincoglionito” befuddled.
Roxy in the box leads us into her POP world, made of colour and irony yet, at the same time, pungent reflections..
Acrylics on 20×20 paper depict a series of celebrities from yesterday and today, each revealing a part of themselves which expresses love towards something with the universally understood phrase of “I LOVE”.
Analogical, paradoxical play gives voice to the Hamlet’s skull an unveils the punk hidden deep within an official of Queen Elizabeth. Icons from all periods of history spanning the gamut from Botticelli’s Venus a champion of depilation to Elvis, a junk food addict… and what, if not earrings, are the best friends of Vermer’s extremely well known Girl? Hello Kitty is sick and tiring of being a gadget for adolescents and mothers invoke a real man. A psychoanalyst’s couch is ready and waiting for habitué Woody Allen and Lady D who is more self-injuring than ever.
All of this might make us smile, but the objective of this work is to provoke far greater and far reaching reflection.
Have we ever really asked ourselves what these icons are feeling?
Unfortunately, nowadays, all these images are overused and have been stripped of their history and voided of their contents.
All of these icons have literally become “rincoglionite”
Be it good or bad, icons are, without any reason, frequently overcome by public opinion and all that remains is superficial.
Roxy’s work is, therefore, an extreme exposé and while it’s true that she does make us smile, her true objective is to make us reflect.
Alessia Avallone
