The Meal

Location

Country: UK
City: London
Place: Government Art Collection

Nothing is what it seems in AK Dolven's representation of a family meal. Who are these people and how are they related? Grouped as three couples, one person is linked to another by physical or eye contact, yet no interaction connects the whole group. A traditional genre scene is transformed into a tableau subtly alluding to the contemporary family unit. Instead of indicating who is 'mother', 'father' or 'child', this ambiguous image is open to interpretation. White light infuses the scene, enhancing clothing and surroundings, a characteristic of Dolven's work. She lives partly in Lofoten, northern Norway, known for the phenomenon of constant daylight in summertime.

Places

Subjects

print (as Subject), genre, ivy, branch, elderly woman, baby, man, woman, 21st century costume, t-shirt, shirt, family, dining/eating, spoon, bowl, bread, fence, trellis, window, domestic interior, chair, table (as Subject)

Materials & Techniques

aluminium, photograph (as object name), C-type photograph

Artist

A K Dolven (1953 - )

Title

The Meal

Edition

1/5

Date

2003

Medium

C-type photograph on aluminium

Dimensions

height: 121.00 cm, width: 170.50 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from Anthony Wilkinson Gallery, London, June 2003

Provenance

Anthony Wilkinson Gallery, London

GAC number

17827