Mandy El–Sayegh
曼迪·埃尔·萨耶 Blessings (莫傲), 2022

Blessings (莫傲) (2022) combines screen-printed images with hand-painted elements, juxtaposing diverse materials drawn from newspapers and other printed ephemera. Chinese characters drawn by the artist’s father in the course of his calligraphy practice run vertically down the centre of the composition. Referencing Chinese blessing scrolls, this element imbues the work with a talismanic quality. The canvas is primarily marked by reds and blues which emerge from the white wash characteristic of Mandy El-Sayegh’s works. Its tones also borrow from anatomical sources, revealing a palette that is evocative of bruised skin.

The artist draws an analogy between bruising and the layered compositions of her paintings: ‘Formally, the bruise is an interesting thing to look at, as it’s composed of layers. In the work, all forms are made up of layers be that of reference materials, fragments, colour, density or speech. There are always decontextualised layers attempting to form a new whole or body.’

Work by Mandy El-Sayegh is included in the landmark touring exhibition, the British Art Show 9, which celebrates the vitality of recent artistic production in Britain. The final leg of the tour is currently installed in venues across Plymouth until 23 December 2022.

《莫傲》(Blessings,2022) 结合了印刷图像与手绘元素,把诸多自报纸和印刷蜉蝣中搜集回来的素材都并列在画面上。艺术家父亲在练画法时写的中文字垂直置放在整个构图的中央,彷似传统中国祝福卷轴的格式,此一元素赋予了作品一种几近护身符的驱邪特色。画作以红和蓝为主调,通常在曼迪·埃尔-萨耶(Mandy El-Sayegh)标誌性的白色水洗风格之上出现。她画作的色调也取材自解剖学,都使用一种使人联想到瘀伤皮肤的调色板。艺术家将瘀伤与绘画的层迭构图作类比:「从形式上来说,瘀伤是个非常有趣的现象,它正正是由层次构成的。而在绘画中,所有的形状都是由参考素材、碎片、颜色、密度或话语等多种元素层迭而成。而总是有一种去语境化的图层尝试去生成另一全新的整体或躯体。