BFA student Nora Sadek has created a series of 24″ circular paintings based on the 12 zodiac signs. The series begins with the first sign of the zodiac, Aries, and ends with the last sign, Pisces. Sadek—by the way, she’s a scorpio—says, “When I meet someone, the first thing I ask them is their name, the second thing I ask is their sign.”
She will be presenting her work as part of the BFA Thesis Exhibition running from March 25 through April 5 in the Mason Gross Galleries. Read more on her exhibition and check out some photos of her work below.
“The idea to make my thesis show revolve (no pun intended) around the astrological signs came about in November just before my birthday, when I truly started to develop a strong interest in astrology. I wanted to find a way to give life to the signs in an abstract way. I wanted it to be understandable and relatable, even through a chaotic explosion of colors; I wanted a Gemini to look at The Gemini painting and feel it within their soul. That was the challenge.”
“When I make each one, I study the zodiac sign in which I am referencing. I read books about them, look up articles about them, but more importantly, I form a relationship with a person of that sign. For example, when painting Taurus, I thought strongly about my older brother, the most influential Taurus in my life. When he is happy or sad or angry or laughing…what does is all look like? How can I put it all down on a canvas using these colors? That is how I try to go about every painting. Another example: when I made Aries, I thought about the Aries in my life who gives her strong opinion on every topic known to man. She wants to be heard. She needs to lead the group. If I angered her, what would the blood boiling in her body look like? How can I paint that? And thus, the Aries painting was made.”