Annelies Strba (b. 1947) portrays the Blessed Mary not as the mother of God but as an ideal
representative of her gender. The photo artist depicts an image of womanhood that elevates
erstwhile religious intention to an abstract realm. Digital disengagement and the almost
rhapsodic colouration set the stage for a surface on which to project emotions. Strba embraces
the Madonnas dismissing the transcendental and concentrating on the empathetic accent of the
mother-child relationship. In choosing Maria Strba creates the role of woman versed in pain
and loss but also one informed by purity and benevolence. Although these features were
originally conceived in the composition and facial expression the artist defamiliarises them
through colour filters and the removal of contours - the dissipating figures lose themselves in
their own luminosity. Annelies Strba is an internationally renowned Swiss artist who has staged
numerous solo and group exhibitions both at home and abroad. Arnoldsche has previously
published two other books on her work: Frances and the Elves (2005) and my life's dreams
(2012).
