Bienal Internacional de Curitiba
October 3 — December 6, 2015
Three Women is part of The Transfigurations series, a group of works that reflect on the passage of time and the process by which a person's inner being is transformed. The medieval mystic Ibn al' Arabi described life as an endless journey when he said, 'The Self is an ocean without a shore. Gazing upon it has no beginning or end, in this world and the next." This profound vision of the eternal nature of human life is eloquently expressed in Three Women.
In the dim, ghostly grey of a darkened space, a mother and her two daughters slowly approach an invisible boundary. They pass through a wall of water at the threshold between life and death, and move into the light, transforming into living beings of flesh and blood. Soon, the mother recognizes that it is time for her to return, and eventually her children slowly follow, each tempted to have one more look at the world of light before disappearing into the shimmering, gray mists of time.
Tereza de Arruda | Curator
Three Women, 2008
Color High-Definition video on plasma display mounted on wall
9:06 minutes
Performers: Anika, Cornelia, Helena Ballent
Photos: Kira Perov
Bill Viola was born in 1951 in New York in the United States. He is worldwide recognized as one of the great exponents in the production of art videos, field in where he has operated for 40 years. He graduated in 1973 at Syracuse University in Experimental Studies. His works focus on experiences of the human universe experiences – birth, death and resurrection – based on both precepts of Western and Eastern culture. His works have great worldwide impact on individual and collective exhibitions.
Bienal Internacional de Curitiba [visit website]
Metropolitan Cathedral of Curitiba, Praça Tiradentes - Centro, Curitiba - PR, Brasil
Exhibition period: October 3 — December 6, 2015