I’d like to make you aware of Costa Rican artist Priscilla Monge. Her work explores love, aggression and the complexities of power. She uses photography, sculpture, or film to express her ideas.
Image: Maita In A Gold Dress, 60 x 40″ © 2011 Priscilla Monge
The photo pictured above caught my attention as I was passing by Salt Fine Art during last night’s Laguna Beach Art Walk. Captivating from a distance, it disturbed and intrigued up close. Could this photograph be nothing more than the depiction of a little girl dressing up as mommy? Or is it making us face issues of abuse, power, vanity, and child abuse. Either way, there is a reaction from the gut, not the brain, that leads you to return again and again to stare at the work.
If this photo mimics a little girl at play, the fact that it is a doll rather than a real girl casts a sinister feel. This makes us wonder about the early impressions of self girls receive from outside sources such as the media and society. If the photo aims to show us what humanity is capable of doing to itself and others, it is deeply disturbing to realize that we can deface mind and body with long-lasting results. With Maita In A Gold Dress, Priscilla Monge has created a work that traverses contemporary issues facing society today.
Salt Fine Art is holding an auction tomorrow, June 4th. Maita In A Gold Dress is up with a starting bid of 1/2 the normal gallery price. To find out more about Priscilla Monge and the auction, visit Salt’s website listed below.
-Gina Genis