Psalm 19, 1987

SALVATORE ZOFREA
Psalm 19, 1987
Oil on linen
180 x 250 cm

AUDIO TRANSCRIPT

Artist, Salvatore Zofrea, title, Psalm 19, 987. Psalm 19 is one in a series of paintings reinterpreting biblical Psalms and relating them to contemporary experience. Zofrea’s work is influenced by the visual and cultural traditions of his native Italy, but also expresses a deep concern with spirituality and the nature of existence. Psalm 19 depicts a group of performers and although the figures are presented in a rather stiff formal arrangement, they convey an intensity of feeling and suggest family, relationships and separation. Performers are frequently wanderers journeying from one location to another. This movement suggests the artists and others’ experience of migration and associated gain and loss. The young girl gazes out of the painting with a sad, distant expression, while the youth opposite stares directly at the viewer. One hand is clutched to his heart conveying a sense of absence and longing, while the other hand rests on a trumpet. Zofrea infuses his work with a personal symbolism, and in the Psalm series the image of a trumpet is used repeatedly to signify change, while the performers are situated amongst hoops, hurdles and bar. A metaphor for the trials of life.