Carolina Gómez
Bogotá, Colombia (b. 1974).
Carolina Gómez's portraits depict beautiful women from mid-century magazines and glamour portraits. Hidden behind glistening jewels, Carolina's subjects draw us into a world of extravagance and elegance, artificiality and poise.
We can't see their faces, but perhaps that doesn't matter? These ladies' poses, jewels and style are enough to tell us that they were icons of their time. Their mystery pulls us in and we want to look for longer, we want to look harder, to see if we can reveal who's hiding behind each precious stone. As we examine each portrait, we're distracted by the glistening facets of each precious stone, losing ourselves in their beauty.
Does it matter that the individual features and identities of each lady have been supplanted by a product in a world focused on selling glamour, style and beauty? Does the famous face hold the same value as the precious stone? Could the actress and her adornments survive without one another? In a world dominated by media, entertainment and endorsements, does the actress sell the product or the product sell the actress?
