Impudens Venus I

 “By making the image in itself a sufficient source of knowledge and information, she questions established principles regarding the text-image hierarchy in most of post-modern image theory.”

Jesús Alcaide in Venus Impudens · Neo Gods & Hyper Myths

“Lombardía’s project resonate in theme and tempo with Benjamin’s own, not only for their respective provocations to take stock of the rise of popular sympathies to authoritarian sentiments, perceived as a moment of danger, but also for Lombardía’s critical interest in the reproducibility of images within this scenario”

Jonathan Snyder in Venus Impudens · Neo Gods & Hyper Myths

One of the most popular Hellenistic Venus among the many typologies that exists, is Venus Pudica, also know as Capitoline. Praxiteles popularized this representation of the classical Goddess, where the statue is characterized by her modest gestures, which led her to hide with her hands, or with a piece of cloak, both her breasts and her genitals. This popular figure exemplified the modest virtues of the Goddess and, by extension, of women. Thus, values such as prudence or discretion have been cemented throughout the centuries as the feminine ideal. 

After studying these sculptures and their symbolism, and comparing those images with new social representations of women, shared through the internet and social media, Lombardia created a body of work entitle Impudens Venus, which represents and exemplifies the opposite ideal: constructing women who recognize themselves as impudent, imprudent and indiscreet.

Therefore, these statues fragmented by history, are now complete with arms of women protesters, with limbs that no longer hide, but raise their fists closed, and their nakedness is covered only by powerful words written on their skin.

In this way, through appropriation, collage, and the use of secular and contemporary iconography, these sculptures have been emancipated from the weight of representation and now invite us to reflect on women's bodies as an ideological and a symbolic field, questioning the role of art in the objectification, legitimation and construction of the feminine ideal.