Bad Bunny
The work in the Bad Bunny series are created by a woman, looking at the history of art. Specifically the history of men looking at and creating art from the nude female form. These erotic, sensual, gorgeous figures have always held a fascination for me despite being the definition of objectification. The history of Western art has been a chronicling of male desire and power. The silly, sexy Bad Bunny drawings are created by taking classic poses or scenes from art history and popular culture, then recreating them using a very camp aesthetic. In place of the female I am placing myself, or my more specifically a curvy pink bunny alter ego. In the drawings I am taking ownership of, using and building upon the original male desire from which the works were created. But the final drawings are sillier, softer – a safer space for women and non-binary people to revel in the erotic and the female form.
The drawings and videos also come from a place of catharsis, working through intergenerational cycles of trauma, feelings of shame and imagining new realities. They come from the working class party culture I few up in. They are works that make me laugh, finding humor and sympathy for some of the more shameful parts of human nature. There is something powerful about externalizing and characterizing some of the worst parts of yourself, and the people you grew up with, then still finding a way to love them.
The surreal puppet show, “Bad Bunny Gets Lucky”, was created in direct response to abortion restriction legislation. It was commissioned by, then censored from, an exhibition at the McNay Museum of Art in 2022. In it, I use humor, sexuality, and rage to push back against the silencing, policing and politicization of women's bodies. The marionettes, props, and drawings included in the show satirize traditional dynamics of power and imagine new realities.
