CRISTINA CORAL
Hide and seek
22 May 2017
1970s hues and pastel shades of pink and blue give a timeless persuasion to the Italian photographer Cristina Coral’s ethereal images. A self-declared autodidact, the photographer’s placement and lighting of the models evoke scenes from the film “Puzzle of a downfall child” starring Faye Dunaway. Coral’s meticulously composed pictures have a calculated eeriness and uncanny edge.
Pale, lost souls are scattered or positioned on beds, in corners, between curtained divides with hidden faces and, it would be safe to assume, hidden motives. Delicate drapes and folds of dresses are mirrored in the surroundings, as are patterned textiles and camouflaged bodies. The seemingly chastened figures are reminiscent of childlike innocents trapped in a surreal game of hide and seek, that, sooner or later, will be betrayed by an accidental, awkward movement or a stray, uncovered porcelain hand.