VANIDADES

VANEZZA CRUZ

FEBRUARY 14 - MARCH 20, 2021

Tuesday February 23 at 6PM via Zoom and IG live @empty.set.gallery

Virtual Opening: Tuesday February 16 @ 7PM via IG Live
Artist Talk: Tuesday February 23rd @ 6pm via Zoom
- View by appointment-

Vanidades is a visual exploration of the artist’s preoccupation with ideals of beauty. Touching upon Vanezza Cruz’s experiences as a AfroLatina, this investigation stems from childhood trips of visiting beauty salons with her mother for the purpose of getting her hair relaxed. Filled with moments of disconnection and feelings of erasure during these ritualized trips, Vanezza was inundated with magazine images and oversized posters of women who not only did not look like her but, in retrospect, represented unattainable and idealized examples of feminine perfection. Vanidades (sp), meaning Vanities, a widely popular Spanish fashion/beauty magazine in the 70’s and 80’s, was a staple in the homes and businesses frequented by Latina women. To the artist, these publications further reinforced a connection in the lack of representation of Black women in the mainstream media versus the irrefutable dominance of European beauty standards which shaped Cruz’s self-perception. 

Found objects including store-bought hair from the artist’s protective hairstyles collected over 5 years, fabrics, packaging materials referencing hair textures, and reflective mirrors all grace Cruz’s layered and elaborate installation where she constructs imagery and iconography that references salon culture. This act of reconstruction is cathartic to her experiences and her complex relationship with hair. Cruz states, “With every brushstroke and hard tug, with every pass of the comb packed with hair relaxer, with every comment on how my unruly hair was just too thick and wouldn’t take, I remember feeling as if I wasn’t even sitting in that chair. And the more my curls were manipulated and the anticipation of the new me swelled within, I didn’t realize how small I truly felt until many years later when I decided to chop all my hair off and start anew.” The process of reclamation changes the authorship of a once forced narrative of idealized beauty imposed upon women of color. Cruz meets these antiquated and damaging beauty standards on her own terms, restoring the connection to her cultural identity for a new age.