Omnipresence – Gabrielle Drimalovski

 10th – 25th May 2019 

‘OMNIPRESENCE’ is a multi-media show exploring the notion of the gaze in the context of religion. It consists of a photographic series including seven photographs, a video piece, and a wall installation.

The work’s core context is anchored by the seven deadly sins, as portrayed in the Bible. It plays on the idea of God’s omnipresence, implying he is always watching us committing various sins and exploring the gravity of each of these. The idea behind ‘OMNIPRESENCE’ also incorporates Freud’s theory of the ego, which sees the human psyche structured into three parts; the id, ego and the superego, all developing at different stages of our lives. These are systems, not parts of the brain or in any way physical. The collection of pieces delves into revealing ‘the shadow self’, the side to us we often do not reveal to others.

The focal point of the series revolves around the sin of Pride, also known as Vanity. This is represented by a masked, shadowed figure admiring their reflection in a mirror, which is scattered into seven different facades, each representative of a deadly sin. It comments on the idea of reflection, in all senses of the word, being necessary to reveal different parts within us.

Working with a combination of sound, coloured lighting, narrative and moving image, the video piece within ‘OMNIPRESENCE’ serves to lay down the foundation and core idea behind the piece, whilst the photographs co-exist to convey each of the deadly sins through a rainbow of bright colours with dark meanings. The mirrored wall piece faces the viewer with literal and figurative self-reflection, allowing them to see themselves as both whole and fragmented at the same time. ‘OMNIPRESENCE’ probes at the darkest parts of the human psyche, blurs the boundary between the moral and immoral, and challenges the idea of sin in contemporary society.