Like Mother Like Daughter 2018

Curator: Welcome. Today, we’re looking at Camilla d’Errico’s “Like Mother Like Daughter” created in 2018. This animal portrait features watercolor and colored pencil on what appears to be a coffee-stained ground. Editor: The figure’s intensity strikes me immediately; her gaze is both childlike and fiercely knowing. The fur surrounding her face has a very tactile look. Curator: D’Errico’s blending of pop-surrealism with elements of realism is interesting here. The texture, especially in the rendering of the fur, begs consideration. We see an artist working with commercial styles, perhaps commenting on the industry of character creation, even commodification of youthful personas in art. Editor: It reminds me of Princess Mononoke from the Studio Ghibli film. Notice the mask and facial markings; these echo indigenous symbolism—a visual shorthand for nature, wilderness, perhaps a blurring of human and animal. The red slashes on her cheeks seem like ritualistic markings, connecting her to ancient practices, yet her expression retains an unsettlingly modern sensibility. Curator: Exactly, but those cultural markers are rendered in contemporary materials. Colored pencils and watercolors. The ground, seemingly prepared with coffee, does two things, right? First, it lends the piece an antique or aged feel but does so using commonplace items. And, importantly, how is the art shared? Social media likely. So the presentation impacts its reading just as much as its construction. Editor: Fascinating. I am also struck by the dichotomy. The girl's face is rather realistically rendered. This contrasts quite sharply with the flat texture of the red mask she wears, giving her an almost inhuman or surreal quality. Is the contrast between her expression and costume trying to tell us about something deeper? Curator: Absolutely. The contrast creates that surreal atmosphere the artwork suggests and forces us to engage not only with this image, but the endless stream of content we confront on a daily basis. The artist prompts us to really analyze not only what’s been presented to us, but how. Editor: A very good point. This artwork is really rich with layers of meanings, both visual and cultural, when you pause and really consider them. Curator: Precisely. I’m eager to think more about how its physical being informs its message and how its creation speaks volumes about both materials and distribution.