Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice 

Curator: The artwork before us is by Sarah Joncas, it's titled "Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice," a title hinting perhaps at conventional femininity. Editor: The first thing that strikes me is the texture – it seems almost cloying. All that pink, the soft curves. There is definitely a materiality here that invites you in and also makes you wonder about your sweet tooth, the red lollipop is intriguing in this context. Curator: The painting presents a reclining figure, a woman, rendered in delicate acrylics. Her skin is porcelain, her hair a cascade of pink, and she’s adorned with motifs that echo that candy-sweet title – a bow, a cupcake tattoo, a heart-patterned garment. Do you find it appealing? Editor: Appealing is a strong word. It's definitely seductive, playing on this fetishization of the sugary-sweet feminine ideal. The details really make it - a cupcake tattoo? I’m intrigued by this application of material desire as a statement. I think the artist plays the surface tensions between pop art and craft. The body is the medium. Curator: Indeed. I find myself pondering on Joncas’ choices in depicting contemporary femininity. It plays on this cultural iconography surrounding women— almost a self-aware pastiche of tropes. Editor: The materiality, I think, contributes greatly to that. It's a hyper-femininity. Like the uncanny texture of candy or desserts, the flesh feels slightly unreal. Almost like a mannequin displaying an extreme caricature. It raises so many questions. Is it critiquing these images, celebrating them, or just sort of... offering them up for consumption? It definitely challenges our assumed relationship between "high art" and "craft". Curator: And doesn't that raise some further interesting questions about accessibility of certain mediums such as tattoos. Do tattoos deserve the cultural status associated to the paintings made on canvas for example? Where does tattooing culture fit into that hierarchy? I guess this opens an interesting discussion, the use of skin for creative freedom. Editor: Right. It makes us question not just the images themselves, but also how we value different kinds of production. It's compelling! Curator: Agreed. It really sticks with you and sparks discussion. Editor: It's an unusual experience; I see the craftsmanship but still question how it participates in current society!