Venus (film) warms up to him when he starts interacting with her. He takes her to the National Gallery in London to view his favourite painting, the "Rokeby Venus", by the Spanish artist Diego Velázquez. Jessie had expressed interest in modelling (Maurice initially mishears this as "yodelling") and Maurice arranges for Jessie to model nude for an art class. As a result of Jessie posing for the art class, and inspired by his favourite painting, Maurice decides to give Jessie the nickname "Venus". Maurice and Jessie develop a passive/aggressive relationship over the course of the film. Maurice is forward in terms of
David Rokeby David Rokeby David Rokeby (born November 14, 1960 in Tillsonburg, Ontario) is an artist who has been making works of electronic, video and installation art since 1982. He lives with his wife, pianist Eve Egoyan, and daughter in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His early work "Very Nervous System" (1982–1991) is acknowledged as a pioneering work of interactive art, translating physical gestures into real-time interactive sound environments. "Very Nervous System" was presented at the Venice Biennale in 1986. Rokeby's pioneering interactive work "Very Nervous System" has been evolving since 1982. In "Wired Magazine" the work is described as "A combination of technologies,