​Artist statment

 

I call my work Monster Pop. Monster Pop is a world created from the mind of an obsessive, imperfect, perfectionist who is infatuated with pop culture and craves attention. I see the world around me through a pop culture lens, labeling and dissecting identity with influential symbols from my past and present while trying to anticipate the future. These components come from various places which include comic books, music, television, and fashion. I use these images to create patterned backgrounds that become spaces or worlds for my portraits and figures to exist in. These elements are created with mixed media techniques that include oil painting, screen printing, and collaged imagery. These are the main ingredients that I use to create bold and graphic paintings that explore the story behind iconic imagery and how it relates to and affects society. – Raquel Gaiten