“The enigmatic can only be proposed by someone who does not master the answer.” (Laplanche, ‘Essays on Otherness’)
“The difference between wonderment and the absurd is blurred in the work of Laura d’Ors. In this state of illusion, we can –suddenly– be dealt a heavy blow. A house vanishing, leaving nothing but a plume of smoke behind is not irreconcilable with the subversive lightness of two portraits as refreshing beverages: they are simply two different types of fiction. The image’s starting point is the mise-en-scène. This does not necessarily mean its essence is narrative; its basic structure is not so much the progression as it is the point, the occurrence, the element of the unexpected. This accounts for the deliberate arrangement of the different elements: a device that does not conceal itself is far more effective.
The use of minimal compositions, the occasional appearance of colour –usually cool ones– on monochrome surfaces and the reduction of the space to only its recognisable dimensions, point to an irresolvable tension between the unreality of the scenarios and the convincing power of the photographic image. That is why dreams and the fantastic are privileged themes in this oeuvre –with a humorous touch– even if the smile is slightly disquieting.”
—F.J. Sánchez Martínez
“Laura’s work is pure theatre. [...] It takes courage to open up your work that way and to incorporate the search for something to hold on to part of the subject. This leads to beautiful, enticing and ethereal works, that seem to hover between nostalgia and a sort of jolly anarchy.”
—Jury report, Junior Beeldende Kunst Prijs Overijssel
(Aan Zet Art Prize)
“Laura d’Ors gives a major place to the vague realm of dreams. In this space filled with ‘disreality’ reside her images. [...] Her work is in a state of blur, of not-knowing, like attempting to understand oneself’s position in a new situation after an explosion. In order to define her work more sharply the concept of mimesis is appropriate, because she aims to connect everyday life with a bewildering experience through a surreal situation. By the way the artist manipulates reality, the spectator is trapped in the image.”
—K. van Duinen, curator ‘Splinters of Paradise’
Sommerlabor ArToll