This is one of the ‘SPOrTLIGHT’ Series of  work which, responding to National celebrations of the 2002 Manchester UK. Commonwealth Games, explores current perceptions and representations of sport. Sports celebrities and specific sports are presented in symbolic images that take a light hearted and sometimes satirical look at how commercialisation and the mass media have transformed sport into a tool for product promotion and increasingly blurred the boundaries between the world of sport, fashion, media and celebrity. The series, which formed an exhibition in 2002, reinterprets 18th and 19th Century Indian miniatures paintings - the aim being "to create a platform for introducing wider audiences to this traditional art form through a subject that would have mass appeal as part of popular culture". In a broader context 'SPOrTLIGHT' projects the artists' ongoing aims to assert the value of traditional and non European aesthetics as a legitimate form of expression within Contemporary art practice.

 

Here, Venus Williams’s accomplishment within tennis is presented as an extension of the wider impact of black women on 20th popular culture across the fields of sports, cinema, music and fashion. This is an image about the ultimate ‘girl power’ - manifest through women who have challenged the traditional social stereotypes of black underachievement and pushed the boundaries of black success within a global entertainment, fashion and beauty industry known historically for its white bias tendencies.

Dwarfing the other figures in the composition, her imposing presence mirrors the stature she shares with her practice partner and co competitor Serena who, whilst physically absent from the scene, is represented by association - as the sisters who rocked the conservative white image of tennis to become the first black women to play at Wimbledon and win the prestigious US Open final.

It’s also about how the sports arena in general has become a showcase for designer sportswear companies who seek to monopolise on the free advertising afforded by spin off media coverage of the game and play on the growing tabloid tendency to panda to the gossip element of a mass readership more interested it seems in what the sports personality is wearing than how they are performing. In this respect, Venus is shown wearing the infamous outfit which was captioned in the press as the ‘Venus Eye Trap.

In a context where celebrity status is a major selling point to potential sponsors, this further points to the growing pressure on sports personalities to develop a public image that gives them an edge over the competition in grabbing those important headlines. The suggestion here is that in Venus’s case her risqué approach to fashion on the court is an extension of a self created personal style whose media appeal has acted as a catalyst for her equal success off the court - a style that reinforces her highly sellable image as a young, active, vibrant, young women and has totally broken the mould in terms of the hitherto relatively reserved image and strict dress code of tennis. It’s a painting which also shows Venus as truly modern icon who reflects a sign of the times in emphasising just how far social attitudes to fashion and women have come since the early days of women’s tennis where Victorian values of decency and modesty dictated ankle length skirts and chin high necks for work and leisure !

Proving to be one of the most celebrated female sports personalities or her time, Venus takes her place at centre stage both on the tennis court and the catwalk whilst adoring African - American female fans gaze on; awe inspired and faithfully donning replicas of actual outfits worn by their heroine.

Symbolising her universal renown within the field of tennis, she swings the ball into a distant horizon, towards a pond which takes the form of a global map. But as certain elements in the painting indicate, the true measure of her success is revealed by the fact that she has acquired a level of fame which transcends not only her own sport, but all sport. It is the kind of fame that has been immortalised in an episode of The Simpsons, influences prime time National network broadcasts, commands multimillion dollar sponsorship deals ranging from beauty products to chewing gum and has stars for fans.

Amongst these are female celebrities like Whoopie Goldberg (who reportedly walked on to a set during the filming of Hollywood Squares in 2002 and started bowing towards Venus and Serena) and the pop legend Dionne Warwick (who serenaded Venus with a round of ‘That’s What Friends are For’ at Wimbledon the same year). Even the black queen of the catwalk herself - Super Model Naomi Campbell, is shown stepping aside for the sports star turned sports model and her very own collection of designer wear.

The composition is based on an Indian miniature which depicts a group of tribeswomen getting ready for the hunt. Its relative unusualness in representing a female slant on a traditionally male dominated theme, provided the initial inspiration for this painting, which similarly highlights the female perspective within what’s popularly perceived as the male world of sport.

 

copyright the artists

 

 

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