The video work entitled Amalgamation by Naomi O’Reilly revolves around themes of seduction, pleasure and intimacy. Saturating the viewer with rich fleshy and highly sexualized visuals, O’Reilly captures the sensations of touch and sexual desires through the interweaving of masculine and feminine forms. These mutating segments of cropped body parts displayed in a grid overwhelm and confront the viewer as an intruder on a private moment.
Influenced by prominent female artists such as Sophie Calle, Ann Hamilton, Pat Brassington and Julie Rrap, O’Reilly’s practice explores the nature of femininity, expressed through the visual, challenging traditions of the female gaze. The young women starring back at you, combined with the panting breath of a woman’s orgasm also adds to the discomfort of invading personal intimacy, exploring female satisfaction and human lust.
By Alison McKay
Naomi O’Reilly, Amalgamation 2013, Digitally manipulated video, Dimensions Variable (1080 x 720pxl)