Dr Lakra

Look at Dr Lakra’s work Untitled (Ladies), which pictures beautiful women with traditional cultural facial tattoos that question the definition of ‘real’ beauty. The facial tattoos look very out of place in these pictures but are a symbol of female rank and identity in a number of indigenous and tribal cultures. The artist is using juxtaposition as a device. Juxtaposition is when two different things are used together to create new meaning.

In Dr Lakra’s artwork he places two contrasting ideas of feminine beauty from different cultures together to prompt the viewer to consider their own understanding of the concept. He also encourages us to think about tattoos as fashion by using 1950’s fashion magazines as a canvas for tattoo art.

Image: Dr. Lakra

Untitled (Ladies) 2013-2014

Watercolour on vintage magazine, Set of 5: 26.2 x 22.5 cm each. DL9051 Courtesy of the artist and kurimanzutto, Mexico City

Does this artwork make you re-examine your understanding of ‘beauty’? What is the contemporary view of beauty? Do you agree with this understanding? Why/why not?

Different cultures have different understandings about what is ‘beautiful’. Think about another culture you know about and explain some of the things they find beautiful.

Imagine you had to explain your concept of what ‘Australian beauty’ is to a person from a different culture. What would your key points be?

What issue do you feel strongly about? What imagery/text would you juxtapose to visually communicate your message?