The blue-and-white drawers of this little “zombie” are clearly inspired by the colours of the Fabbri jar. The figure looks at the spectator as she plunges her arms deep into a white mix that is even bigger than she is. Is it candied sugar? The sensual red lips, printed like a sort of signature in the lower corner of the composition, seem to smack with contentment. What has happened to Elena Monzo’s female figures, which were so aggressive and transgressive, so determinedly searching for their own individuality? Here, the young Brescian artist draws using pencil; she applies glued sequins; employs a language that has the immediacy of cartoon art. However, there is also the coarseness of finish we associate with a certain type of Expressionism.
The acid colours and malleable forms show that Elena Monzo is not trying to describe a tangible reality but rather to achieve a psychological/emotional transformation of the visible. She invents a new type of perspective in which proportions are not realistic; colours are inspired by mood and the forms are deliberately off-kilter. Spatio-temporal reality has been replaced by emotions.