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17 Laura Xenopol.jpeg

THE MAP II | 2024 

Laura Xenopol

Acrylic, pencil, and marker on Paper, 46x67cm

The Map II comes from a series on mapping started in 2017. The work visualizes a sacred space, creating encounters between the earthly and the otherworldly. It adheres to the idea of two realms, a visible and an invisible one—the conscious and the unconscious.

The painting draws a path toward the invisible, but rather than taking a reductive route, it gathers concepts, states, and feelings into a cumulative visual system—a personal iconography. This visual system is based on archetypal notions of color, form, and symbolism. Otherworldly figures and dream-like miniatures depicting anthropomorphic flora and fauna feature in the map. Constellations of geometric abstractions become worlds unto themselves.

The map draws inspiration from nature, and the symbols often resemble organic elements such as the sun and the moon, lions, leaves, branches, or seeds. In this way, the painting develops a distinctive language of forms, symbols, and notations grounded in an intimate system while defying obvious legibility. This opacity is critical for the creative process, as it invites the audience to explore and decipher the clues themselves, attributing new meanings and connections to the work.

Laura Xenopol

Laura Xenopol (b. 1999, Romania) is an artist and cultural practitioner living and working in Abu Dhabi. Her work revolves around visual research to explore a new sacred, drawing on anthropomorphism and symbolistic values of nature. Her mixed-media practice addresses the complexities between physical and imaginative environments and follows an interdisciplinary approach by employing painting, sculpture, and research in natural landscapes. Passionate about tackling relevant questions about heritage, Xenopol has specialized in museum studies and cultural management and has collaborated with Dhakira Center for Heritage Studies and NYUAD Art Gallery. She has a BA in Art and Art History from New York University Abu Dhabi.

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