Emma Feliciano
Emma Feliciano’s Modern Ophelia aims to represent the feeling of drowning in anxiety. Anxiety looks incredibly different to the person experiencing it than to others. Although this piece deals with dark subject matter, it uses romanticized aesthetics in order to evoke a sense of calmness within the viewer. The piece is composed of thirty photographs layered on top of one another at various opacities. The layering creates a sense of chaos within the work that is meant to reflect the anxiety of things piling up. This piece invites the viewer to take the position of both the calm onlooker and the one experiencing anxiety. The longer one looks at the piece, the more uncomfortable the imagery becomes, encouraging viewers to stop and closely examine it.
Emma Feliciano is an emerging artist based in Milton, Ontario who is studying at the University of Toronto Mississauga and Sheridan College. Feliciano’s practice consists of photography, painting, graphic design, and mixed media. Through the use of pop culture imagery and social critique, Feliciano explores themes of female empowerment and the concept of intermediality.