Angela Ndalianis

Divine Darkness: a Female Odyssey

6 - 17 November 2024

G1

Opening Night

Friday 8 November | 6 - 8pm

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Divine Darkness: a Female Odyssey celebrates two powerful female figures — the saint and the vampire — who have inspired the artist all her life. The darker figure is inspired by Lilith who, some sources tell us, was the first wife of Adam and a primordial she-demon who had an appetite for devouring humans. God threw her out of the Garden of Eden and into a wasteland. Some sources describe her as the Mother of Vampires, which is the version explored in the exhibition. In the 1960s, feminist theologian Judith Plaskow transformed her role from demon to powerful role model for women.

The divine is represented by the Virgin Mary and a number of female saints who have suffered in life. Many turned their backs on patriarchy and refused to marry, accepting the Church instead. They endured and survived because of their otherworldly strength, refusing to be subjugated to man. Rather than understanding the vampire and the saint as opposites, they are celebrated as different and extreme expressions of female power that exist along the same spectrum. 

And why cats? Cats have been worshipped by humans for millennia as gods and as enigmatic creatures with mysterious powers. And cats have lived with the artist all her life. These stoic, independent and very funny furballs have become part of her identity. In the paintings, they sprinkle their magic across the spectrum, embracing both vampire and saint, and their mesmerising presence tells a tale of empowerment and resistance to oppressive rules.

The paintings create a micro-spectacular aesthetic that’s influenced by baroque art. In addition to using acrylic paint,  materials include fabrics and rhinestones with the artist acting as painter, designer and dressmaker. Adding to the spectacle, decorative, baroque-style retables or portable altars have been created by the artist to house some of the paintings, adding a theatricality to the overall experience.

Artist Bio

Angela Ndalianis specialises in vibrant, decorative art that’s inspired by her love of late C19th and early C20th European art — but with a baroque twist! She spent almost 30 years as an academic and established a career as a professor of screen media and art history.

Angela specialised in the horror, science fiction, and superhero genres and she also developed a theory of the neo-baroque, which argued a case for the return of the baroque in new, C21st contexts. Her academic interests in horror and the baroque have found new expression in her art.

Contact
Phone : (03) 9482 3550
mail@redgallery.com.au

Address
157 St Georges Rd
Fitzroy North, Victoria, 3068
Map

How to get here
Tram: Route 11
Stop 21 just north of Edinburgh Gardens

Melway Ref: 30B12
Parking in nearby streets

Bus: 504 (Reid Street)