Maisie Broadhead

Maisie Broadhead New Series of Photographs 2011

Maisie Broadhead has chosen a number of paintings by masters such as Vermeer, Velasquez and Hogarth and reconstructed the original image through photography. Composed in theatre-like sets, these digital prints are exquisitely produced and echo the painterly quality of light, luscious fabrics and rich colours of the original pieces. However, Broadhead embellishes the image by adding humorous, contemporary twists such as an Apple laptop or modern fax-machine. Individual elements in the originals are also replaced by objects of personal significance to the artist – members of the family act as models; family photographs sit on 18th century mantelpieces made of cardboard; her grandmother’s wedding dress becomes a dressing up costume for Broadhead’s son. By reworking the original image, layers of interpretation are formed. By using contemporary and historical elements, the images link the past and present and identify enduring narratives from one century to another.

Maisie Broadhead graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2009 with a Masters in Jewellery, where she displayed her unique pieces with staged photography. Each piece of jewellery was presented as a prop within the striking re-modelled transcription of an old master painting that conceptually related to notions of what is real and fake within her practice. Since graduating from her Masters, Broadhead's work has received an exceptional amount of attention, and has had feature articles in a wide range of publications including The Sunday Times Magazine; The Telegraph Magazine; The World of Interiors; Notion Magazine; It's Nice That; M Magazine; and You Magazine. The artist had a solo exhibition at SOFA Chicago in April, 2011 and Sarah Myerscough Fine Art has exhibited her in art fairs in London and New York.

The artist had her first solo show, The House of Fake, in the gallery in November 2010. In this exhibition, Broadhead expanded on her ambitious project to re- interpret a number of iconic images, which cut across art historical movements, often in search of the obscure, to appropriate imagery that truly encapsulated her conceptual as well as aesthetic concerns. In her work, Broadhead's creativity is initially observed through the materiality of the jewellery and then re-defined and substantiated through the production of the fine art photographic parodies. Her exceptional eye for detailing, quality and composition is conveyed through the making of complex set design, lavish costume and theatrical direction to arrive at a final image. The viewerʼs eye indulges in Broadhead's re-presentation of rich, sumptuous fabrics, particularly in her photograph Keep Them Sweet, which is an adaptation of An Allegory of Wealth, originally painted by Simone Vouet, c.1635. Likewise, we are entranced by her astonishing ability to photographically re-create the delicate and subtle light portrayed by the original painterʼs own hand. Whilst cleverly mimicking such sensuous visuality, juxtaposed is a percolation of contemporary objects replacing the original drapery or literature, for example a Spot the Dog childrenʼs book and a pampers nappy on a cherub. The artistʼs actual jewellery pieces, despite appearing intrinsic to the photographic image, when presented in their three- dimensionality, become intriguing and surprising contemporary forms, often made of quite unexpected materials.