As If Fascinated by What Remains Still in the Background, 1999, photographs

The figure of a little old lady, nursing two horns in her lap, is the central scene of a photograph. She is standing in front of a brick wall, dressed in ordinary clothes. She gazes into the photographic lens with a kind of trusting look and a tight-lipped smile. She recalls the motif of the virgin and the unicorn, which, according to legend, cannot be captured, except when he lays his head in her lap. It is no coincidence that the unicorn chooses the lap of a virgin, as only her lap is pure, innocent and still trusting like a child's. And such is also the visage of the old lady in the photo. The photographed lady certainly did not capture two unicorns, but she may very well embody the innocent trusting and guiltlessness, the traits of virginity according to oral tradition. On the other hand, we cannot ignore the horns, as phallic symbols, which bring pleasure and fertility. The satisfied smile of the little old lady perhaps suggests many sons and grandsons, or perhaps the most bountiful crop yet, if these horns are the cornucopias of wealth, be it material or spiritual.