Emerging Artists 2008

Emerging Artists 2008

EDITH MAYBIN

edithmaybin.com

Edith Maybin's images are wonderfully intangible explorations of the self. They present a playful investigation of the generational relationship between mother and daughter, bound together by highly structured undergarments from Marks and Spencer (a great British institution for female apparel). In The Tenby Document, Maybin, 38, challenges reality by digitally reassembling her body with that of her five-year-old daughter. In one image we see a sexually mature female figure poised behind a glass door, dressed in a corseted undergarment; the head on the figure is that of a young girl, flawlessly fused. These images are subtle and dreamy with a carefully balanced use of color. They are also clearly feminine; the repetition of mirrors and windows in the images functions successfully as a device that conjures up fantasy and escape. These are unprecedented, original insights into the self, and they prove that Maybin, who received her MA from the Swansea Institute of Art, U.K., in 2006, is an artist to watch. -- D.K.C.