“What is history and what is our perception of it?” was one of the questions multi-disciplinary conceptual artist Esmeralda Kosmatopoulos asked herself when approaching the topic of her latest exhibition ‘Si le nez De Cleopatre’, currently on display at cultural hub Darb1718. Walking into the avant-garde exhibition space, one will be greeted by a wall of plastic surgery notes, a sea of noses, and a faceless Cleopatra sculpture, among other such artworks – all of which are dispersed throughout the space in a way that wholly complement each other. In her latest exhibition, Kosmatopoulos uses the famed ancient Egyptian Queen Cleopatra as a metaphor for the practice of re-writing and correcting of history throughout various eras and generations. According to the artist’s statement as to why this particular queen was chosen as a representation of this notion, it is due to the fact that, “[Cleopatra’s] image has been defaced and ‘refaced’ in Western collective imagery.” “Every era has its own Cleopatra,” comments Kosmatopoulos in regards to the idea that this famous ancient Egyptian queen’s image has been constantly altered and re-shaped to fit different eras. The artist goes on…
Si le Nez de Cleopatre: An Art Exhibit Examining Re-Written History
February 16, 2020
