Witness How Painter Monica Hernandez Confronts Beauty Ideals Through Self Portraiture

Monica Hernandez is a young American painter who has been welcoming the world to explore her life through scenes of an autobiographical nature. Born in the Dominican Republic before moving to New York aged 6, Hernandez documents her identity as a young woman of colour in parallel to the anxiety inducing world of social media. By combining painting with photographic self-portraiture which she exhibits on Instagram, Hernandez offers vulnerability and honest narratives as the bedrock of her creation.

““I would like my art to be honest, transparent, in whatever it is trying to say or do. I want it to be vulnerable and open.””

Be it a painting or a photograph, Hernandez constructs scenes that place the female form at centre stage. The power of the female gaze is ever-present in her work, mixing a dreamlike softness with an emotional drive. Situating brown bodies of women and men in baths, lounging on beds or surrounded by plants, the intimate imagery that is created offers a window into her life. Seeming to never shy away from offering honest depictions of herself, Hernandez engages in conversations about her body hair, acne and emotional turmoil. A refreshing and encouraging narrative to witness when considering the amount of manipulated and perfected imagery social media allows people to construct.

““I’m treating Instagram like its own art piece. Challenging how we represent ourselves,””

Not only is Hernandez’s open dialogue a reflection of her fearlessness to discuss themes which could induce a sense of shame, her overall style is one which is welcoming and friendly. Her scenes are created with blocks of sunny colours, applying thick brush strokes to her soft edged forms that fill the space to bursting. Her recognisable painting style feels intimate and inviting with its gentle childlike construction, and the constant documentation of her big eyed, brown skinned naked forms leads her work to read like a storybook of her life; studying her own growth and challenging the way she represents herself.

There is genuine depth to the work Monica Hernandez is making by allowing herself to be the subject matter; this takes both strength and determination in the face of critiscism. By bringing colour, honesty and beauty into the narrative, her work is as symbolic as the sun she paints within her pictures.

Follow Monica Hernandez on Instagram @monicagreatgal

Words: Bethany Burgoyne