Eye It Affectionately

Eye It Affectionately uses food imagery to explore the symbolism of sexuality and desire in cinema. Drawing from histories of still life and food symbolism, the project examines how metaphors convey concepts of sexuality, gender, and sexism, offering a nuanced perspective on their depiction in cinema translated into painting.

At a time when symbolism and metaphor are able to orchestrate societies perception of sexuality and desire, through painting this project aimed to analyse the role of food as a symbol in cinema, providing a nuanced approach to the way we use metaphors.

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Mia Gunton is a Gold Coast based artist who has recently graduated with a Bachelor of Visual Arts at QCAD (2024). Her practice draws on cinema, still life, and self-portraiture to examine how visual culture constructs narratives of sexuality, desire, and betrayal.

Mia appropriates and re-stages stills from cinema, inserting herself into scenes to disrupt the passive gaze. Using floral and food symbolism, she considers how visual languages shape cultural understands of pleasure and power.

Her current research engages with erotic sculpture from Greek and Roman antiquity, reinterpreting classic forms to inform contemporary depictions of desire.