The unison of two people is never synchronised. Regardless of how strong one can love another, every person is different and has demands and needs their partner conflicts with. This is the nature of a developing relationship, where the two involved will undergo a power struggle. Much like chess, the two parties battle out with each other’s minds, testing their patience and intelligence. The conflict of the black and white pieces represent that of the clash of problems within our every day lives. Decision-making is based on calculations that affect the outcome of later moves. Without putting thought to these decisions they can become disastrous, potentially losing you the game. Relationships offer the same obstacles as we challenge our problems with our hearts and not our minds. Over time, as the relationship matures, issues are approached with strategy and intelligent thought.

 

Visually, a game of chess offers more than two people playing the game. The physical game itself offers no insight into the thought process of the players and only expresses the decisions they've made. Regardless of if a move was good or bad we don't know why a decision was made. To better understand the player we must investigate the body and how it communicates with the board and their opponent. Body language communicates far more than words as it expresses our true feelings.

 

“However, chess does not appeal only appeal to the basic desire to win. It also exerts its pull on another important psychological element, the desire to detect patterns and to impose order on chaos.”

 

John Nunn, Chess Grandmaster

 

This is evident in chess as you can read an opponents’ state of mind in reaction to events happening on the board. Giuseppina Ardolino’s art piece explores the relationship between couples through the physical interaction of a game of chess. Chess has the fundamental image of two people facing each other, which became the stylistic choice for the shot’s composition. Ardolino ignores the physical game and instead focuses on the interactions between the couples, investigating the interactions within their relationships in response to the chess game.