"the way things are -- green with red"
2000
This photograph of the artist lying in a verdant swamp reenacts a painting that is an English icon—in fact the most popular postcard sold by the Tate Britain. It mirrors the character Ophelia, who after being rejected by Hamlet in a Shakespearean tragedy, falls into a river while picking flowers and slowly drowns, singing all the while. In the original, Millais selected an array of flowers, each for their strategic associations. Anya Gallaccio uses red roses as visual exclamation points, and exploits their potency as symbols of love—both found and lost.
Chromogenic print
118 1/8 x 39 3/8 in. (299.7 x 100cm)
Gift of Lehmann Maupin Gallery in honor of Lisa Corrin
2003.2
