“The silver screen” is an old synonym for the cinema, inspired by the actual silver-coated screens used for early film projections. Today, they are making a come-back for 3D animated film projections. Aptly, “Silver Screen” is also the title of the haut-relief (a three-dimensional sculpting technique) made by artist Nadia Naveau in 2016.
In her own words, the artist states: “In Silver Screen, the movements within the relief are reflected in the silver bronze surface. Directing and mirroring, these movements highlight the preliminary sketch and the narrative of the sculpture. This composition is like a cinematic time-lapse captured within a frame.”
This sculpture depicts a number of figures, most notably a masked cat seated in a mysterious environment. The scene, set in monochrome silver-coloured bronze, also features architectural elements like window frames and bricks, theatrically draped curtains, and a large abstract cylinder that partially blocks the view onto the rest of the sculpture’s pictorial plane.
The relief was made as part of a temporary project of public artists’ interventions (organised by artist Lieven Segers in 2016), and acquired by the Antwerp Public Art Collection (Kunst in de Stad) in 2020. It remained however in its original spot above the entrance of a book shop just off the Hendrik Conscience square in the old city centre.
About Nadia Naveau
Nadia Naveau (1975, Bruges) lives and works in Antwerp. She teaches sculpture at the Antwerp Academy of Fine Arts. Recent (solo) exhibitions include 'Bringer Together', De Warande, Turnhout, 2021; 'The First Parade', Knokke-Heist, 2021; “In Situ 2020”, Abbaye de Lagrasse, Lagrasse, 2020; 'Let's Play it by Ear', Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Deurle, 2019; ‘Sanguine, Bloedrood’, Luc Tuymans ON Baroque, M HKA, Antwerp and Fondazione Prada, Milan, 2018.
