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| Non Grata |
"There are other portraits where danger is implicit, however, and one is advised to tread carefully lest, like the ever-hungry triffid, the creation strikes at the heart of the viewer, or strikes it across the eyes, not to blind but to enlighten and reveal. The Non Grata portrait, to name one, wherein the serenely sly and nude persona holds a firecracker (symbolic dynamite) in a black-gloved hand to his mouth like a cigarette particularly intrigues me. A red gash scars his cheek, and he wears a cross, which is a paradoxical element. A visually complex and witty portrait, Non Grata exemplifies the satirical humour in Macri’s art and his deliberate play with conventions and stereotypes. I would be anxious in the presence of this man who is capable of putting explosives in his mouth or mine. After all, the missing word in Non Grata is persona. We don’t know why this man is persona non grata, but viewer beware."
~ Kenneth Radu (Adamo Macri’s Triffid and I)
~ Kenneth Radu (Adamo Macri’s Triffid and I)
Non Grata, 2018
Photography: Chromogenic C-print
91 x 91 cm
