Digital Responses                             V&A exhibition 2002

The story of Susanna is one of the few biblical stories to depict nudity and it is rare to find a composition in which Susanna is clothed. From the Renaissance onwards Susanna had always been portrayed as a victim of adultery, totally naked and in a suggestive manner as though inviting the elder's advances. However stories recounting the deeds of virtuous women were popular with English needle-workers of the 17th & 18th Century and they would depict her fully clothed. This influenced my choice to depict her in costume. I wanted to transform this scene into an 18th Century period, one of prosperity and flamboyancy especially within the upper classes. Susanna is thus depicted as a more autonomous woman faced with choices in an era of increased sexual freedom. I recreated the scene in a boudoir with myself and two actors in 18th Century costume, emphasizing the genteelness of that era shown in our gestures and poses. These compositions were virtually re-created from various images from the photo-shoot which are re-constructed with interiors from the V&A collection i.e. The Melville Baroque bed as a symbol of power and wealth, Susanna was married to a respected wealthy noble man, therefore her reputation was at great risk from the elders giving them more power to succeed in the bribe.

The collections show how engravings were recreated from paintings to inform a broader public of what a painting looked like. Embroideries were drawn from the engravings on silk by a professional pattern drawer, adding and changing composition and selection of colours and direction of stitch, enhancing even more a graphic quality. I have also produced this graphic quality from transforming my digitally generated photographic compositions into a drawn traditional medium of intaglio printing, (etching) which will then be digitally transferred into embroideries.