A native of Toronto, Sarah Mangialardo earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Ryerson University in 2005, graduating with honours. Presently living in Montreal, she is in the process of completing a Master of Fine Arts in photography at Concordia University. For this photographic work Mangialardo draws her inspiration from myth, religion, philosophy and literature. During the past two years she has explored issues of gendered violence, faith, sin, morality, innocence (or loss thereof) and sexuality. Employing a narrative structure, Mangialardo uses paper cut outs to portray the protagonists and antagonists in her constructed scenes. Her practice emphasizes atmosphere to produce the appropriate light effect from which to draw the narrative context. Mangialardo’s mythological narratives extend into the dimensions of morality and the surreal. For this project the artist was inspired by The Enchanted Owl to create her own mythic space. Introducing water into her process, Mangialardo creates a dramatic, otherworldly space by photographing her paper cut outs underwater.
Marie Péron