Pétits: Women Artists Redefining the Scale

In a world captivated by grand spectacles, towering monuments, and viral movements, the small and intimate often go unnoticed. This exhibition challenges the prevailing notion that bigger is always better, presenting women artists who embrace small formats as a means of resistance, visibility, and poetic strength. Their works remind us that the most profound statements on rights, society, and freedom of speech do not require massive scales—only the power of thought, precision, and intent.

Globally, women’s struggles often fall into this paradox of scale. The media covers major protests and legislative victories, yet the everyday injustices—domestic violence behind closed doors, pay disparities disguised in contracts, the silent erosion of reproductive rights—frequently remain invisible. The unpaid labor of women, from caregiving to emotional support, sustains entire economies, yet it is consistently undervalued because it exists in the realm of the "small." This exhibition aligns itself with the discourse that seeks to challenge such imbalance, amplifying the voices that are often overlooked simply because they do not conform to the dominant narratives of power.

On the one hand they are mere appearance, insubstantial ornaments, but, at the same time, they have a gaze that can be animated by the viewer, who, through it, can project the inclination to endow things with an interiority and identity. These "theatrical vignettes" are constructed as visual comments that speak of the human condition. I am interested in the simultaneity of humor and distress, banality and the possibility of meaning.

Leticia focuses on the female universe and on herself as a woman, mother, and artist. She frequently paints from memories, scenes from photographs, and movies to trace her own script. From an emotional selection, the artist seeks to convey basic emotions such as love, sadness, or loneliness. Her work is based on the investigation and observation of the female experience in her daily life. In this way, she incorporates an autobiographical dimension into her work, joining the scene as an interpreter.

Interested in the nature of painting itself, her works convey an impression of nostalgia and remembrance, preferring oil as a technique, which is more natural, with loose and fluid brushstrokes, executed in long painting sessions in one go. Through an intuitive approach, each work distances itself from its origin, making a psychological use of color through the expressiveness of lighting, with what cools and covers with shadows or warms and reveals with light. Leticia is reaffirming the unique ability of painting to capture essence, emotion, and narrative in a static yet deeply evocative way.

For the artist, painting acquires a fundamental role as a means to face life, functioning as a diary or introspective exploration that describes and reconciles her feelings, experiences, realities, or traumas. But also a way to pause the unbridled rhythm that drags us along, that does not have the patience to delve into an experience, to slow down, calm the breath, and open the senses to details, subtleties, and gestures.

A "bridal" in Spanish would be a bundle of zip ties, perhaps a bouquet; however, its meaning in English translates to nuptial. The use of zip ties has always been to immobilize, and it is frequently used by repressive organs to apprehend someone. This duality between control and celebration becomes a powerful metaphor addressing the vulnerability of human rights in contexts where child marriage remains legal and culturally accepted.

Child marriage primarily affects girls who are forced to marry before turning 18, a practice that violates their fundamental rights. According to recent data, over 650 million women worldwide were married as minors. This reality is concentrated in regions such as Africa and the Middle East, where factors like extreme poverty, cultural and religious norms perpetuate this practice. In countries like Niger, 76% of girls marry before 18, leading global statistics. In the Middle East, Yemen has a 30% prevalence of child marriages.

These girls are robbed of their childhood and face severe consequences: school dropout, labor and sexual exploitation, early pregnancies that increase maternal and neonatal mortality risks, as well as physical and emotional violence. Moreover, child marriage perpetuates cycles of poverty and inequality, limiting access to education and opportunities for future generations.

The artwork Bridal uses the image of zip ties to symbolize these invisible chains that bind girls to an imposed destiny. The choice of material is not casual: zip ties represent physical restriction and social imposition. When grouped in the form of a bridal bouquet, it evidences the inherent irony in celebrating a union that is forced and deprives girls of their autonomy.

Child marriage is not just a cultural practice; it also reflects legal and structural failures. Although many international treaties condemn this practice—such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights—legal exceptions based on parental or religious consent still exist. These legal loopholes allow millions of girls to be sold under the pretext of guaranteeing them a better future.

The artwork invites the viewer to reflect on these unjust realities and act to eradicate this practice. It is an urgent call to ensure that no girl is forced to marry before being emotionally and physically prepared. Only through female empowerment, universal education, and strict enforcement of laws prohibiting child marriage will it be possible to break this oppressive cycle.

My art practice is defined by three main activities: Transforming, Embellishing, and Serving. My function as an artist is to be a starting point for questioning reality through the concept of beauty. I focus on working with what is conventionally considered beautiful or ugly to understand my reality. I invite viewers to question their concepts of beauty to know themselves better as individuals and members of communities. I illuminate how what can be construed as unacceptable and taboo can become a means to connect to others and expand how we perceive beauty and reality. I transform the repulsive into something beautiful, functional, and valuable.

I employ strategies related to process art and social practice to create my art. The results of my explorations take the form of sculpture, drawing, video, installation, and performance. My practice is based on creating unique objects and jewelry through personalized service. I use bodily waste for its symbolic meaning and its qualities as material based on its characteristics, such as color, shape, texture, and consistency. I combine the fluids with other materials, such as gold, silver, and resin, to make them functional, durable, and reliable. My work process is immaculate. I use gloves, masks, ventilation, and everything necessary to prevent contamination.