The Lustful Turk
2013
Painting, 3 x (200 x 270 cm).
Materials: oil, canvas
Collection: Courtesy of T293, Naples/Rome.
THE LUSTFUL TURK (HABERDASHERY), 2013
THE LUSTFUL TURK (BANG BANG), 2013
THE LUSTFUL TURK (SALON), 2013
THE LUSTFUL TURK (WALLPAPER), 2014
The various paintings, drawings and objects of the series The Lustful Turk are all based on an English erotic novel from 1828 that is a well-known example of Orientalism, Europe’s proactive ‘othering’ of the people it was about to colonise. Three large paintings are presented here, on a wallpaper displaying four visual emblems that Di Massimo developed to depict the somewhat repetitive physical activities described in the novel. Like the wallpaper, The Lustful Turk (Haberdashery) suggests that cushions and tassels and candles and clouds might stand in for certain body parts, whereas The Lustful Turk (Bang Bang) introduces African sculptures as an additional ‘exotic’ layer and The Lustful Turk (Salon) offers a retrospective view of some previous paintings in this series. (AK)