Gara Acosta's "Consumer Objects" Examines Women's Objectification
Artist Gara Acosta's "Consumer Objects" exhibition, critically examining the objectification of women and gender-based violence, opened last Friday at Cicca in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and will be on display until January 23.
An exhibition called "Consumer Objects" by artist Gara Acosta opened last Friday at the Caja de Canarias Initiatives Center (Cicca) in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. This thought-provoking art show will be open until January 23. In it, the Tenerife-born artist critically examines the many ways violence affects women in a society that often treats them as objects and reinforces gender stereotypes.
"Through her art, Gara Acosta shows how, from birth, women's bodies are shaped, labeled, and controlled. She explores common practices that continue inequality, like assigning gender roles early on, playing games that promote sexist ideas, or the constant pressure for women to be beautiful, nurturing, and emotionally available from a young age," explains Fernando Fernández, director of the Fundación La Caja de Canarias.
The exhibition also looks at the journey from adolescence to adulthood, a time when innocence is lost, and women become aware of their bodies being watched, judged, and often taken advantage of by others. Periods, physical changes, and becoming an adult are shown as key moments when women start to be seen as objects for consumption, especially in a world where a lack of consent is still often ignored or downplayed.
With this show, Gara Acosta (born in La Laguna in 1990) highlights how these imposed roles restrict women's lives, challenge their abilities outside traditional femininity, and expose them to many types of violence, which in extreme cases can be deadly. "It's an exhibition born from a release of emotions, from exhaustion, and from the violence we face. It's a way to turn art into a cry and a protest," says Acosta. She adds that "the exhibition has been well-received, has been shown in several places in Tenerife, and is now also in Gran Canaria. This makes it very meaningful for me, as it's a new version of my first solo exhibition project from 2019."
Gara Acosta has a degree in Creation and Design from the University of the Basque Country (UPV) and is a senior technician in Illustration from the Fernando Estévez School of Art and Design.