‘A is for Allegory’ Part I, Digital Video (19mins).

‘This series explores the concept of allegory in a contemporary context, juxtaposed against allegorical paintings and etchings from the late Renaissance to the Romantic era predominantly investigating inspiration from Cesare Ripa's Iconologia published in 1555.

These tableau's use performance, soft sculptural forms, and digital video compositions as methodology for drawing. McGarry, takes the philosophical, moral, and spiritual concepts of Nature, Poverty, and Melancholy, and presents them through the lens of contemporary themes. For example, in a reimagined version of Dürer's Melancholia I, the traditional wreath of watercress to dry out ‘black bile’ and imagined geometric etched forms are replaced by an office worker wearing a mask to evade AI algorithmic face detection being waterboarded with crude oil.

These contemporary allegorical representations explore a quest for meaning, connection to soul, and an understanding of the contemporary world.

Thank you to B. Wynn, Y. Gotts, B. Smith for their help as camera operators on this project.