STATEMENT OF WORK

My paintings explore the interplay between light, form, and the female body through light situations that play on the nude or flesh and hand self self portraits in various ways.

Camilla Fallon’s paintings masterfully explore the delicate interplay between light, form, and the female body. Through thoughtful close cropping and intentional scale shifts, she creates intriguing, unpredictable spaces that invite contemplation. Her work plays with obscured identity, using tightly cropped body fragments and broken shadows to allow light to conceal and reveal the human form. These luminous patches serve a dual purpose - they illuminate while simultaneously obscuring, creating a captivating push-pull effect.

In her most recent series, Fallon focuses on the navel as both subject and symbol. Pretty Navel places this unassuming feature at the exact center of the composition, demanding attention. As the series progresses, the navel undergoes a striking transformation, evolving from a simple bodily marker to a powerful metaphor. In works like Wound, Navel, and Bloat, it becomes a gaping wound, reflecting deeply personal experiences of aging, surgical scars, infections, and physical discomfort. What begins as neutral anatomy transforms into a poignant emblem of human vulnerability.

“I deliberately obscure my identity and maintain anonymity because these paintings are so revealing,” Fallon explains. “That very exposure leaves me feeling vulnerable.” This artistic approach has deep roots in her practice. A decade ago, she painted her full body while hiding her face or showing only the back of her head, which was a clear nod to Velázquez’s Rokeby Venus with its mirrored reflection. Those earlier works radiated confidence, portraying her middle-aged body in bold, energetic poses like handstands, celebrating its strength and flexibility.

Today, Fallon takes this concealment further, either omitting faces entirely or obscuring them behind dazzling light. Bodies appear in fragments, often patterned with light streaming through Venetian blinds - these alternating bands of light and shadow hide and accentuate the body’s curves. The resulting paintings provoke thoughtful questions about identity, exploring the complex relationship between self-perception and the viewer’s gaze. They examine how light, space, and perspective all contribute to our understanding of what has come to be known as “the female gaze.”