Alveare 2016

Curator: Look at this, “Alveare” from 2016 by Camilla d’Errico. The piece seems to be crafted with acrylic paint. What strikes you first about it? Editor: Immediately, it’s the intensity of her gaze! Such an intriguing juxtaposition – this childlike face with these enormous, knowing green eyes. And then, the bees! Are they… wearing her hair like a honeycomb crown? Curator: Precisely! d’Errico blends pop-surrealism with this compelling portrait style, wouldn't you agree? To me, the bees suggest an interdependent ecosystem—the girl, her mind or body perhaps, is the hive. They're almost like extensions of her thoughts. Editor: Absolutely. It hits on themes of collective work and potentially even forced labor and control if you start digging into power dynamics. Considering the labor typically expected of young women it isn't unreasonable to see some type of social criticism as well, perhaps of expectations versus what's fair. The girl is not smiling... she seems almost overwhelmed. Curator: True. And those swirling, almost liquid forms that cradle her? They feel protective, yet confining. They suggest a kind of surreal support system. The drips of what I imagine is honey create this visceral response… delicious and maybe a little sticky. Editor: Definitely sticky—or rather, it calls attention to the sticky morass of social, economic, or familial obligations that keep girls and young women trapped, and perhaps it implies an almost parasitic or exploitive dimension as well. Is that honeycomb growing out of her head, or being attached there against her will? The bees all huddled and buzzing so close by contribute to the same sense of crowding, surveillance, pressure. The overall sweetness of this 'honeyed' picture turns unsettling fast, the closer you look. Curator: The artist uses this sugary-sweet palette to make you drop your guard. Then BAM! The weight of the world falls on this delicate girl, adorned, or rather, burdened by this colony. The artist, I believe, understands the inherent duality of beauty, no? Editor: Yes! A deceptively beautiful cage—precisely. That initial innocence dissolves into a complex critique of the burdens placed on the subject. Well, it's certainly given me something to buzz about! Curator: Heh. Agreed! It's an image that stays with you, long after you've stepped away. Art serving honeyed truth on a surreal silver platter, perhaps?