Skinning the Mirror #12

This mixed media work by Edgar Arceneaux is part of his “Skinning the Mirror” series that features material-based abstractions in which the artist transforms silver nitrate—used in the manufacturing of mirrors—into a painting medium. Mirrors and reflective materials are a recurring aspect of Arceneaux’s work, often used to engage the viewer’s gaze or serve as a metaphor for gaps in history or memory. Here, the painting’s reflective surface appears battered and fractured, an undulating, fissured abstraction of color, texture, and black voids. The artist’s mother, Merc Arceneaux Sr., died from dementia while Arceneaux was painting this series, which became a visual metaphor for the painful loss of memory and recognition and the vulnerability of mind and body he experienced during his mother’s decline. By interrupting the mirror’s reflective properties, Arceneaux invites a poetic interpretation and space for contemplating absense and mourning.