The boundaries separating human and beasts become ambiguous in this set of paintings by Brooklyn-based painter and illustrator Caitlin Hackett. Although encased within a foreboding context, the characters within these illustrations retain a sense of delicacy and elegance as the beast-like qualities come into balance with the delicate qualities of their human influence.
Caitlin Hackett turns to several mediums that she finds are gradually blurring the distinction between the bestial and savage and what we consider proper and humane. The illustrations include animal skulls elegantly decorated in jewelry, creating an unclear distinction between the morbid and the adorned.
Caitlin Hackett's portraits challenge our impression regarding what we consider defining or redeeming features. These illustrations encourage us to question the distinction between elegance and decay as they relate to and define our own intrinsic nature.
Morbidly Austere Paintings (UPDATE)
Caitlin Hackett Blurs the Line Between Elegance and Decay
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