Audacity
Audacity is an artwork by Séfora Camazano. This remarkable piece is an original Giglée Fine Art print on a 100% acid-free cotton canvas, measuring 177 x 119 cm. Crafted in the year 2024, it is part of the “Female Portraits: Looking Back to the Past” collection.
The painting is a portrait of Rquia. She appears wearing an elegant black dress with a “V” neckline and puffed sleeves, adorned with a delicate pale yellow rose at the waist. Her left arm is akimbo, with her hand resting on her waist, while her right arm is extended and leaning on a velvet-backed chair.
Her hair is gathered in a low bun. Despite her refined attire, her gaze is introspective and melancholic, directed straight at the viewer, inviting them to delve into her inner world.
On the wall behind her, a golden-framed painting embellishes the space, depicting the tender image of a woman holding her baby in her arms. To the right, an open door in the foreground breaks the composition, inviting us to discover more about this enigmatic woman.
Rquia was born in Morocco, where she was forced to flee due to violence and persecution within her family. Pregnant at six months, she faced a heartbreaking decision: to board a makeshift boat in search of a better future for her baby. During four distressing days at sea, without food or water, she feared for her daughter’s life, who was no longer moving in her womb. Upon reaching Las Palmas, she was taken to a reception center with the help of the police and later transferred to another city in Spain.
Rquia does not share more details of her story, but her silence speaks volumes. The fear of those who should have been her support led her to risk everything at sea, pregnant and alone. Now, in Europe, she enjoys the freedom to make decisions about her life, her religion, her way of dressing, and her behavior in public. Her greatest motivation is her daughter, who has been the driving force for change in her life.
“Audacity” represents Rquia’s courage in challenging norms that were not meant for her. It is the bravery this woman had to seek her freedom. Although her gaze reflects sadness, it conceals an unbreakable strength and a deep love for her life and that of her daughter, driving her to seek better conditions in a country where women are respected, have more rights, and can make their voices heard.
The artwork production
Audacity was inspired on the artwork Señora de Sorolla in Black (1906), by Joaquín Sorolla.
