In Strobe Lights + Flash Lights, executed in 2000, Marlene Dumas subtly evokes man-made light, rendered by the white paper that Dumas leaves unpainted which shines through the dark strokes of metallic paint, glimmering as they catch the light. Depicting a female form at the centre of the portrait’s composition, Dumas’ gestural painting style places an emphasis on the surface of the paper, invoking bleeding pools of paint which outline the figure in motion. Discussing her characterisation of her subjects, Dumas states ‘…it’s a stripping down to that melancholy sex appeal that makes surnames disappear and first names fictional’ (the artist, quoted in ‘Live Acts, Silent Studios’, strippinggirls, exh. cat., Theatermuseum, Amsterdam, 2000, n.p.).

Throughout her prolific oeuvre, the human form has been a key preoccupation of Marlene Dumas. From the dancing central figure, to the flare of light in the lower right of the composition, Dumas’ public scene feels emotive and intimate. For strippinggirls, the project produced with photographer Anton Corbijn between 1998 through 2000, Dumas visited the red-light district of her adopted home Amsterdam, taking Polaroids of the working women who became her painterly subject matter. This method of working partly from life was a departure from her process of painting from found pornographic images, producing a greater sense of intimacy and understanding of her subject. Dumas’ adroit handling of paint enables her to expertly animate the female figure with a few thin washes of metallic acrylic and ink.