Chris Twomey, Madonna Series is a multi-media installation including DVD, mixed media paintings, and prints

Modeled after paintings of the Renaissance, Twomey uses an eclectic palette to depict a diverse group of contemporary mothers and children as 21st century icons. Through DVD, paintings, and prints, the iconography of a worldview is updated and past is joined to present through ancestry genetics. The DNA mutation numbers show our path through evolution and offer a source for our commonality and our individuality. The continuity of the human spirit is found in the relationship between mother and child, merging humanity with science to suggest a new paradigm for the idea of mortality and self.

The group of women/children Twomey has used, reiterate the idea of place and history, for they are people in Twomey’s life; people with whom Twomey has shared a personal moment in time. Each Madonna is singular in personality, but each also reflects a particular genetic Haplogroup spun off from other groups during evolution. Ghostly distortions and colorizations lead to thoughts about how we will use this genetic knowledge.

The ancient DNA number tracings conjure up profound meditations about our shared origins and the complexity of choices we must make for our future.