Gallery 1202 Sisyphus Series
These works are currently for sale through Gallery 1202 in Gilroy, CA:
https://www.artsy.net/partner/gallery-1202/artists/vivian-liddell
Sisyphus Statement
Gender and power are core concepts in my work. I live in “The Classic City” (Athens, Georgia) surrounded by a dual Greek culture. Fraternities and sororities separate students by gender and cement gender roles and power structures for the next generation; ubiquitous Classical architecture (often accompanied by manicured landscape) is a constant reminder of Western ideals.
I create tiny “plays” with handmade props and puppet plasticine figures to reenact imagined dramas that might happen on any given home game day. These sets become animations, but also act as a narrative anchor and maquettes for works in a variety of media. Even though my work relies on humor, I’m asking serious questions about how branding, everyday rituals, and consumerism play into established power dynamics.
These paintings accompany an animation that addresses the Greek myth of Sisyphus. After witnessing some fraternity recruits carrying rocks up a hill during Rush Week, I was inspired to dive deeper into the mythology and have been playing with imagery that includes rocks and Greek columns to continue exploring how gender, everyday rituals and power structures are intertwined. The parenthetical titles in these works come from the "Myth of Sisyphus" by Albert Camus. His work addresses the idea that the artist, like Sisyphus, is a hero of the absurd.