(Sinclair, Alexia. Elizabeth I - The Virgin Queen (1533 - 1603)
c. 2007. digital type C print.)
Dancing as a ballerina from a young age heavily influenced the performance aspect of Sinclair's art where role-play is ever-present. She spent the first ten years of her life living in Newcastle by the ocean. Her family moved into a broken down antique Courthouse in the countryside of the Hunter Valley and lovingly restoring it.
(Sinclair, Alexia. Boudica - The Celtic Queen (AD 26 - 61)
c. 2007. digital type C print.)
Soon after, her family opened a spectacular European restaurant within the restored antique Courthouse. Sinclair grew up in this kitchen and cooked for many years to support herself. Later on, she spent a season cooking in the Greek Islands, where she culminated her creatively based love for making art.
(Sinclair, Alexia. Isabella of Spain – The Catholic (1451 - 1504)
c. 2007. digital type C print.)
Sinclair moved to Sydney at the age of eighteen to study Fine Art at the National Art School. This was the beginning of her tertiary education. She completed her studies at NAS and went on to complete a BFA and MFA from the University of Newcastle. Sinclair has exhibited her artwork throughout Australia, including being and exhibiting as a finalist in the National Portrait Prize Archibald at the AGNSW.
(Sinclair, Alexia. Christina of Sweden – The Androgynous Queen
(1626 - 1689) c. 2007. digital type C print.)
Sinclair’s most famous works include the Regal Twelve, the viewer is invited on a journey of imagined worlds that are actually based on historical truths; each image being a study of true historical female monarchs. Alexia explains, “The criterion for the selection of each character was their regal descent; each ruled her realm and each displayed a strength that allowed her to do so when women generally held little power.’
(Sinclair, Alexia. Agrippina - The Poisonous (AD 15 - 59)
c. 2007. digital type C print.)
Each artwork is created in the computer by combining hundreds of photographic layers. The landscape and the architectural backdrops relate to the reign of the subject. The model’s hair, makeup, costume, and body painting are all inspired by the period and fashions of the time, reinterpreted into a contemporary visual style. The final stage of the process is to blend the elements using computer illustration, a process also employed to create highly polished hairstyles that epitomize each subject’s style.
(Sinclair, Alexia. Marie Antoinette – The Extravagant Queen
(1755 - 1793) c. 2007. digital type C print.)
Sinclair’s art is dark and seductive, baroque and symbolic. This multilayer art presents contemporary notions of fashion and beauty through innovative digital media, whilst restoring antique notions of classism, elegance, and luxury. Inspired by the masters of renaissance art, Sinclair uses a visual narrative to seduce her audience with each photographic feast, and her artwork is much appreciated here!
Enjoy :)
Reference: AlexiaSinclair