Heads

“The exhibition revolves around the series of paintings titled Heads. In this series, the artist explores the human head -- and the human condition. Each is a unique moment of vision and an icon of pure interiority. These eloquent heads seem to have an inner life, as they emerge into the foreground and simultaneously recede into the backdrop. Unsettling, the work is hard to turn away from, reminding us of Rilke's words from the first of the Duino Elegies: "For the beautiful is nothing/but the beginning of the terrifying..."

"In this core body of work, Safdie employs a simple yet vital and expressive technique. She mixes linseed oil and samples of earth which she has collected from places during her travels. So the work is literally of the earth, but also a potent metaphor for transformation."

   - James D. Campbell, 2004, Montreal