“I am interested in the representation of dissidence, the periphery, and aberrant bodies. Bodies that are not controlled, that are not consumed, that do not want to be consumed and do not allow themselves to be consumed.”

—Wynnie Mynerva

Through a contemporary feminist lens, Peruvian artist Wynnie Mynerva challenges the traditional representation of female eroticism. Her abstract compositions, featuring anonymous bodies rendered in commanding brushstrokes, explore the intricacies and taboos surrounding human sexuality. Mynerva’s canvases assert their dominance and refuse to submit to the viewer: her figures reject their position as passive consumables, and in doing so, challenge the long-standing tradition of the male gaze within art history.

The present work is exemplary of Mynerva’s practice. Executed on a more intimate scale, it retains the same striking confrontation as her larger canvases. The highly graphic composition focuses on the ‘bas-ventre’ of two entangled figures. Their bodies are rendered through gestural painterly strokes of pink and brown; drips of burgundy throughout create a heightened emotional response in the viewer.

By strategically placing the female figure at the centre of the composition, Mynerva further emphasises her commitment to the representation of female sexuality and pleasure. She refutes a voyeuristic gaze and asserts the feminine figure as an active participant rather than a consumable object. Having grown up in a Catholic country, where sex remains a taboo subject, Mynerva’s practice continues to show a deep devotion to the exploration of human sexuality and the deconstruction of patriarchal ideals.