Monica Zeringue

Gallery Affiliations: Jonathan Ferrara Gallery

Region: South

Website: http://www.monicazeringue.com

City / State: New Orleans, LA

In my new drawings, I use imagery from ancient Greek and Roman tales, particularly the trials of Hercules, and weave a new mythology with myself as the center. The symbols become something completely new in this context, but continue to recall goddesses, monsters, and mortals struggling for survival, power, and a place in the world. As a self-portraitist, I am tracing my struggles with identity, trying on new ones. I am a beast, a savior, a nurturer, frightened and then frightening. The drawings are both descriptive and sparse: open, empty space plays off finely rendered images to create a timeless dream like place. Whatever is not given in exquisite detail must be imagined. I want the work to be beautiful, yet also challenging and confrontational.