A monumental and captivating work from Claire Tabouret’s iconic series of the same title, Les Débutantes (Rose Bengale) exudes an enigmatic theatricality in its exploration of youth and false appearances. Nine débutantes emerge from a black mass of draped fabric to pose, stoic and inscrutable, for their portraits as a luminous neon purple seeps through the rippling inky blackness of their gowns. Inspired by the photographs of the Debutante Ball, a formal rite of passage which marks the coming of age of the young women presented, this series infuses an uncanny ambiguity to these relics of high society. Subtitled Rose Bengale, so named for the electric rose colour used as the background which frames the pale, expressionless faces of these debutantes, the present work is a fascinating reflection of the relationship between individual and society. Weaving together a tapestry of evocations and echoes glossed from old photographs, magazines and history books, Tabouret’s inscrutable portraits capture a layered, impressionist portrayal of youth.

《元 媛舞會（孟加拉玫瑰紅）》是克萊爾·特伯萊的同名標誌性系列當中一幅扣人心弦的巨型作品，探索著青春和虛偽的外表，並散發出充滿神秘感的戲劇性。九位社交名媛站在一大片懸垂著的黑色布料前，為這幅肖像畫擺出克制而深不可測的姿勢，而一陣明亮的螢光紫色則從她們那些如墨水般漆黑、皺褶有如漣漪般的禮服裙中滲透出來。這個系列的畫作靈感來自「元媛舞會」這些象徵著年輕女性成年的正式場合的照片，並為這些上流社會的遺物注入了一種怪誕的模糊性。本作的副題為「孟加拉玫瑰紅」，是背景中用以襯托這些名媛蒼白木訥的面容的那道電光玫瑰紅色。本作引人入勝地呈現了對個人和社會之間的關係之反思。特伯萊將舊照片、雜誌和歷史書籍中的回憶和迴聲，編織成這系列深不可測的肖像畫，並以層次豐富而極具印象派風格的手法捕捉了青春的面貌。