MICHAYLA GRBICH
illustration
toska: noun : /tō-skə/ : a deep melancholy sadness, a spiritual wound, a dull ache of the soul.
toska!! is a collection of six large scale illustrations that reimagine historic pieces of art thatcast women in
traditionally objectified gazes; Ophelia by John Everett Millais, Venus & The Lute Player by Titian, The Reluctant
Bride by Auguste Toulmouche, A Bar at the Folies-Legere by Édouard Manet, Lucretia by Rembrandt, Pygmalion
and Galatea by Jean-León Gérôme are the specific pieces that have been recast. This series is not to say I have
the definitive answer on how these pieces should be handled, but these are my definitive versions.
the illustrations.
The pieces of toska!! are all visually dense, and maximalist in approach. Every detail means something to solidify
the notion that the figures within are not just the symbolic figures that they’re historically aligned with; they also
have a life outside of these moments. Historically, these figures have not been given the grace and nuance we now
see necessary for acknowledging survivors with. Reclamation and adaptability are important themes within my work, along with depicting women in a way that feels non-exploitative; and my own experience in healing has definitely informed the way I’ve traversed these themes. The physical dimension in these spaces are intentionally built to feel more compressed and claustrophobic; as if everything has been designed to live in one plane, pushing the artificeof traditional gaze on women’s bodies. Everything is happening all at once. It became important that every aspectof these pieces was inherently mine; from the designed frames, to the smallest handlings and details or mixed media applications, to the written voice and verbiage that engages with the audience.
the zines.
As a companion to these larger form illustrations, there are six accompanying zines that are reflective of personal experiences, or research based content. Specifically, the research based content meditates on similar behaviors
around the tropes inherent in the discourse of women in art & culture and how they relate to the pieces I’ve chosen
to reimagine. Represented in this run of sister zines are manic pixie dream girls, damsels in distress, Law & Order SVU, my five years (and counting) of bartending, bridal pressures, and femme fatales; all in a range of tone and execution. They are all black and white on varied color stock, as I want these to be pieces that can be readily made and distributed; something that is unobtainable for the multimedia works I’ve created for this project. Their content is, to me, more important than their permanence; the guts are more of a living document of my standing in these topics and understanding of the perpetuation of these narratives.
