Shani Black

Shani Black is an emerging artist and printmaker with an interest in dissecting the rituals, beliefs and problems of contemporary society through satire and allegory. Her interest in Western religious art and pop culture often results in a combination of all these interests through appropriation. Having recently graduated from National Art School with a major in printmaking and the Megalo Studio and Gallery Residency Award, she is now setting up a printmaking studio in central NSW.

This body of work was inspired by the religious paintings of the Renaissance, in particular, those of Carlo Crivelli. The works are intended to demonstrate that while both the original paintings and subjects are hundreds of years old, we can still project our own contemporary experiences onto them. Famous subjects such as Madonna and Child and The Annunciation were appropriated as it is my belief that the pictorial semiotics of the most iconic Renaissance subjects are the most successful in underscoring the intended themes. These works examine contemporary society, such as in what we now venerate in Instagram Influencer and Child as well as the absurd in Scuomo. The study of symbols used in Renaissance art was an important part of my research in making this suite of etchings. These symbols are littered throughout the works to both tie them closer to their originals and to reinforce the meanings of each piece.