BEATRIZIFAL’s Tarot (2000) – From The Fool to The Universe

BEATRIZIFAL’s Tarot develops from research conducted in the late 1990s into Tarot symbolism and the medieval figure of Parzival. Through the study of esoteric texts, symbolic systems, and mythic narratives, Beatriz Millar constructs a framework structured around three interrelated dimensions: earth, soul, and spirit.

The project comprises twenty-two works corresponding to the Major Arcana. Rather than functioning as conventional playing cards, these pieces are carved wooden icons constructed in layered relief. Each work operates as a stratified image, emphasizing depth and structural articulation. A poetic verse accompanies each panel, not as an explanation but as an additional conceptual layer.

The project extended into a performative context in 2010 during an art fair in Bologna. Within a black–white–red boudoir setting, the artist conducted tarot readings and presented her deck together with a booklet of verses. The performance framed the work as an interactive encounter between image and interpretation.

BEATRIZIFAL’s Tarot traces a progression from The Fool to The Universe, structuring the sequence of archetypes as a formalized journey through symbolic stages.