“A Ribbon Around A Bomb” by Suhaly Bautista, The Earth Warrior
Opening date: Friday July, 11, 6:30pm
Exhibit dates: Friday, July 11 - Sunday, September 28, 2014
Selected photographs are
from the remarkably ambitious project inspired by the life and work of Frida
Kahlo, and mirrors them against womyn featured in the work as political
revolutionary and feminist. The series contains 21 color portraits and the
accompanying written reflections of womyn who Bautista considers vivacious,
unapologetic, passionate and courageous –all qualities shared with the
legendary Kahlo. It is an ode to the femininity and grace Frida embodied,
coupled with the strength, pain, aggression and revolution, which were unvarying
constants in her life.
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| Photograph by Suhaly Bautista |
Artist statement:
In 1938 André Breton,
surrealist movement founder, described Frida Kahlo's art as reminiscentof
"a ribbon around a bomb," a label which would later inspire the title
of the 1992documentary about the Mexican artist, political revolutionary and
feminist. Today, Breton’s description serves as the motivation behind this
photographic document / portraiture series,which examines the myriad of
dualities featured in Frida Kahlo’s life and work and mirrors them against womyn
in my own life. The series contains 21 digital color portraits and
the accompanying written reflections of womyn who I consider vivacious,
unapologetic, passionate and courageous – all qualities shared with the
legendary Kahlo.
Having lived through the
Mexican Revolution, Frida’s life and art was inspired not only by the context of
her violent environment but also by the tragedies, pain and struggles of her
personal life. This series is an ode to the femininity and grace Frida embodied,
coupled with the strength,pain, aggression and revolution, which were unvarying
constants in her lifestyle and art. Ribbons,which Frida often inventively wove
into her hair, symbolize sensitivity and elegance, while bombs represent
violence through explosion and outburst –of which Frida is known to have had
her fair share. The imagery of a bomb laced with a ribbon speaks to the
contrasts Kahlo experienced and inhabited. The finesse, femininity and grace of
a ribbon matched with the vigor, aggressiveness and threat (not necessarily
negative) of the way Frida lived her life, inspired her paintings, but
also reminds me of the way my 21 muses live their own lives – in a way that is
simultaneously Feminine and Fearless.
Frida focused her work
mainly on herself and her reality. Her physical, as well as her
psychological wounds were
manifested on canvas. As a result, her art is hugely centered on
self reflection,which inspired the storytelling aspect of this series. In “A
Ribbon Around A Bomb,” asked muses to reflect on one characteristic that makes
them powerful, to tell me what makes them a “bomb,” and to complete the phrase;
“I am strong because I am….” In this way, I am able to acknowledge the
self-meditation that was such a critical and powerful aspect of
Kahlo’s masterpieces. What’s more, these statements give us, as an audience,
insight into the qualities we personify, value, rely on and embody as womyn and
girls – our cores, our foundations, the weapons we wield to overcome life’s
obstacles with confidence and finesse.
Power and womanhood can and
do co-exist. I hope this series inspires womyn and girls to identify,define and
embrace whatever it is that gives them strength.
Like Kahlo, the muses in
“A Ribbon Around A Bomb” are an artistic portrayal of the matrimony between
femininity and force, between grace and guts and most importantly, they are
my reminders that dreams are realities too.
