Diego Velazquez’ most famous piece, Las Meninas, plays with the theme of reality vs. illusion, where perspective is a key element, depending on how one views it. It is an interactive piece, which raises the questions: Who is the central focal point? Is it Infanta Margarita, the royal princess? Is it Velázquez, who is standing in the background at an easel? Or is it the King and Queen, who are reflected in the mirror in the back? The painting presents itself as a “snapshot,” where none of the characters are ‘posed,’ and five out of the nine figures are looking out at the royal couple or the viewer. It is theorized that the King and Queen are “outside” of the painting; that they are the viewers who are looking at the painting while Velázquez is painting them and their daughter, the Infanta, is watching them. Therefore, the painting is through their point of view.
We followed through with this theory for our project, thus using the mirrors to create an ‘infinite space’ where the viewer becomes apart of the piece. When we look at the painting, it in turn, looks back at us. Or are we standing in the place of the King and Queen? Along with the three mirrors we collected, we initially thought of using real people as subjects to reenact the scene in Las Meninas, but since we needed to use the mirrors to create a more condensed space, we ended up using small wooden figurines instead. The red figurines were meant to portray the royal family, whereas the plain figurines represented the commoners. The wrinkly texture of the mirrors warp the reflection in an illusory manner that visually depicts the concept of reality vs. imagination, and the uncertainties the viewer faces.
