Artwork Description
Couple Dancing
Dimensions: 8 x 11″
Year: 2011
Media: mixed media on panel
In Couple Dancing, Holly Roberts juxtaposes photographic and painted elements, in such a way that the work oscillates between a feeling of flatness and dynamism. Roberts’ work is often centered about the idea of a ‘dream state’, where scenes draw from both reality and the artist’s subconscious musings. Within the piece, Roberts encourages viewers to examine the physical and metaphorical relationship between the two figures, where their connected hands appear to indicate a form of corporeal connection, but their disinterested facial expressions suggest a lack of emotional interest. The whimsy of the polka dots in the background engages with and contradicts the apparent seriousness of the man and woman, lending a feeling of transition from the carelessness of childhood to the reality of adulthood and present relationships.