Exhibit: Camille Rose Garcia's Snow White and the Black Lagoon

Camille Rose Garcia

Mirror, Black Mirror, 2011

Acrylic, glitter, gold leaf on panel

48 x 36 inches

This one has already premiered but it's never too late to share the images. From Picturing Fairy Tales Without the Happy Endings by Susan Michals:

Artist Camille Rose Garcia recently unveiled her take on one of the most famous Brothers Grimm fairy tales, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves”…only her show is called “Snow White and the Black Lagoon.”

Garcia, who cites Walt Disney as a major influence, debuted 19 pieces at Michael Kohn Gallery in West Hollywood. Much to the chagrin of the crowd – whose style was a mixture of Goth and Steampunk –80% of show had been sold even before the doors opened.

At first glance, her works may seem just a simple dysfunctional take on a beloved fairytale; but when you look closer, you will see the subtle underpinnings – faces, creatures and environments filled with allegories about capitalism, politics and sacrifice. Actor Jason Biggs and wife Jenny are big fans of Garcia’s work. (Yes, the guy from “American Pie” is an avid art collector.) “Her fearlessness in confronting the darkness is what gives her pieces their light,” muses Jenny Biggs.

As always, one wants to know – where the heck did this idea come from? “I started it last year during the Gulf Oil spill and I wanted to do a re-telling of Snow White combined with the ecological disaster going on there,” recounts Garcia. “The fairytales of Grimm always talked about people that lived in forest that were very close to nature and their environment…I wanted to use the symbolism of things like the evil Queen to represent the evil empire and capitalism; and the white animals and Snow White representing the purity of nature – something precious to be protected. Of course, there’s the battle of good and evil.”

And now for some more images, there are several more on the gallery site if you are interested. I picked some highlights for posting here.