Toxic 

Sarah Joncas painted "Toxic" using oil paint. The striking realism of the face is carefully built up through layers of glazing, while the black drips are boldly applied. Oil paint is traditionally associated with fine art, but Joncas’s technique also reminds me of commercial illustration. Think of make-up advertising, which employs similar strategies of hyper-realism to convey both allure and fantasy. The subject matter too is significant. Joncas is known for portraying young women in a state of in-betweenness, on the cusp of adulthood. The dripping black paint in “Toxic” could be read as a symbol of pollution, but also as a sign of transformation, a kind of self-conscious decay. By bringing together different associations of material, making, and subject, Joncas challenges us to think about the toxic effects of modern life on both our bodies and our minds.