Leave Your Makeup On and I’ll Leave On the Light 

Sarah Joncas made this painting, titled "Leave Your Makeup On and I’ll Leave On the Light," sometime in the 21st century. The painting evokes the visual language of classic Hollywood glamour through the figure of a platinum blonde woman in a nightgown, complete with pearls and red lipstick. Joncas subverts these familiar tropes by casting her subject as a melancholic figure in distress; blood streams from her face onto a vintage telephone. The painting’s title invokes a line of communication, of reciprocity, that perhaps has been broken. The woman's body is positioned as a site where traditional beauty ideals meet the harsh realities of interpersonal conflict. Joncas confronts the dark undercurrents of idealized femininity and asks us to consider the emotional cost of these images. In this way, Joncas’s work goes beyond pastiche to explore deeper questions about identity. It encourages a dialogue between historical representation and contemporary experience.