GEOGRAPHIES + MAKE-UPS

In her photography Karla Solano (Costa Rica, b. 1971) limits herself to her own body. For a long time she made x-ray photographs in order to literally ‘get under her skin’ and analyse herself. Later work, when her body was changed after giving birth, resulted in an overdose of radiation and multiple self-portraits in dramatic images like ‘Under My Skin’ – a fragmented female figure whose breasts and uterus are separated from the head in a bizarre manner. Solano continues her self-investigation in the series ‘Geographies’ and ‘Make-ups’ with intimate and sensual close-ups. Solano belongs to a younger generation of artists in Costa Rica who with their autonomous work want to break with the usual, more traditional photography. In light of this, it is very extraordinary that Solano ‘strips herself bare’ in a society where nudity is not considered natural.