Jus annuli aurei
Marion Rodgers
- Sitter: Norma Wood
- Medium: Photograph
- Dimensions: 90cm x 60cm
- Representation: This artist represents themselves
About the artwork
Norma Wood and the artist are friends, and Marion Rodgers was attracted to her as a subject because “…Norma has a different aura. She is very ethereal, and she gave me the impression that she is almost not there. I wanted to try to capture that.”
Norma Wood PhD, has been a lecturer in philosophy, a company director and a consultant for start-up companies. She is also an artist, painting mostly in oils. She also teaches painting.
The portrait’s title, Jus annuli aurei, is Latin and it means wearer of a gold ring in ancient Roman times. “Norma adored her late husband and sees him as her saviour. She always wears his wedding ring around her neck, for he was her knight, and the title of this work reflects that.”
Marion Rodgers’ unique style tries to convey an idea, rather than an image. She says of her portraits: “I’m trying to capture what they (the sitters) are, not what they seem to be.” The effect achieved in this image was created entirely in-camera, with no post production work.
It provides the viewer with a sense that we are watching Norma fade into the background. Her facial features can still be seen but like her torso they are being absorbed into a shimmering background. The dissolving form is expressive and symbolises how individuals are part of an infinitely larger universe, something much more expansive than one person.
About the artist
Marion Rodgers is a fine art photographic artist specialising in abstract photography. The technique she uses is her own creation, and to achieve her results she allows graphic qualities like texture, colour, shape, structure and rhythm to be distorted. Such abstractedness shows a subtle universe which is much more emotive and imprecise than the real world, allowing for multiple interpretations. She has been a finalist in the Brisbane Portrait Prize twice before, and has had her work exhibited in many group exhibitions.
