BY: @andreadmarco (The term "buffoon" comes from the Italian language, specifically from the words "buffone" and "buffo.")
I've always been drawn to the figure of the buffoon, that mocking, theatrical, and melodious character who made the courts laugh in the Middle Ages, perhaps the only one with some freedom to express opinions and criticize subtly.
I wanted to explore the relationship between this archetype and the characters in card decks often associated with it, through photos divided into three chapters interconnected by playfulness, artistic expression, divination, inner dialogue of each person, and femininity, using color, physical and digital image manipulation, and also utilizing the format of playing cards.
The first chapter deals with the Joker or wildcard, representing surprise, unpredictability, and mischief in the game. The second is The Fool of Tarot, the first card of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, which also explores uncertainty but also change and versatility with innocence, naivety, courage, and spontaneity, although this can vary depending on who reads the cards. The third chapter is the most literal version, that of the buffoon, hidden behind a mask, behind the sound of jingling bells revealing the duality between mockery and criticism, with sadness and happiness, the character and the author.
These figures represent the disruption of the status quo, which is why each character is portrayed in its feminine version, changing the gender not only of who stars in the scene but also of who directs it. The freedom of mockery or criticism is not always allowed on the same canvas where femininity is represented; telling things in a direct way and the biting is usually painted in masculine. In this same line, these photos are an internal dialogue, accepting the buffoon or madwoman who can take up space, speak loudly, and express opinions.
Laughing and making others laugh can also result from embracing uncertainty and accepting the unpredictable and spontaneous nature of life, which, like these photographs, can be red, blue, green, or colored. Just as in a deck of cards that has mischievous wildcards that speak of stories older than we imagine.
Credits
Cr Dir & Photo & Dir: @andreadmarco
Model: @ara.bookk
Assistant: @zelt.zin