Read Our Interview of Wynnie Mynerva On the Occasion of Their Inaugural US Solo Exhibition @ The New Museum →

top and earrings: Heaven by Marc Jacobs

The question of original sin has no relevance in Lima-based artist Wynnie Mynerva’s Book of Genesis. For their inaugural American solo exhibition curated by Bernardo Mosqueira, the artist will be presenting The Original Riot, opening tomorrow (June 29) at the New Museum with a site-specific installation that constitutes the largest painting ever to be presented by the institution, as well as a sculptural element that was surgically removed from the artist’s own body. The readaptation of both mythology and anatomy is central to Mynerva’s quintessentially plastic life and practice; one that finds itself in a constant state of radical change. Painting and performance are a fluent oscillation of being as demonstrated in their 2021 exhibition Closing to Open at Ginsberg Gallery in Madrid when the artist had their vagina sutured three quarters of the way shut, allowing only for the flow of their bodily fluids to function as necessary. The corporeal roles of masculine and feminine are constantly being subverted and abstracted in works that bleed, scratch, beguile, and thrust their way through the patriarchal canon with an air of wanton ecstasy. The binary creation myth was recently addressed in Mynerva’s first UK solo exhibition Bone of My Bones Flesh of My Flesh at Gathering London earlier this year, introducing many for the first time to the role of Lilith in Judaic and Mesopotamian folklore as Adam’s first wife who was created from the same clay (equal in nature) as her husband. Her pitiable fate varies from one myth to the next, but the creation of a second wife (Eve) from his rib remains consistent. The artist’s decision to remove Adam’s body from their own for The Original Riot demonstrates the power to readapt our personal realities at will. It is a reflection of the agency that we unwittingly deny ourselves when we allow allegory to shape our internalized perspectives. The following interview was conducted in Spanish and is presented here in its original form, followed by its English translation. Read more.

Discover AMAZONICOIL: The New Ethnobotanical CBD Serum by Makeup Artist and Director Marco Castro

MARCO CASTRO® is the new beauty and skincare line created by renowned makeup artist and beauty expert Marco Castro. As a Peruvian immigrant, Castro draws inspiration from his love for Latinx culture, which he explores in both his makeup work and films. With work that has been recognized at over thirty film festivals, he has collaborated with respected artists such as Pedro Almodóvar and Nan Goldin, and his client portfolio features prominent names in the fashion space such as Luar, Calvin Klein, and Cartier.

In the development of his brand, Castro is committed to providing sustainable and mind-reawakening skin solutions using ethnobotanical ingredients sourced from the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest, including sacha inchi, wild buriti, and hemp-derived, full-spectrum CBD extract. With its mission to decolonize beauty standards and provide a platform for future generations to embrace their unique identities, the brand celebrates and promotes Latinx culture by spotlighting the ancestral Latinx language of beauty and placing it on a global stage. In an effort to create a better future for better humans, the brand has also become Leaping Bunny certified, testing all products on humans rather than animals.

For its initial offering, MARCO CASTRO® has launched AMAZONICOIL®, a beauty serum that can be used both topically for lightweight moisture that soothes the skin and reduces signs of aging, age spots, and acne scars, and orally to help with anxiety, stress, and pain relief while boosting the immune system with revitalized antioxidants and macronutrients. It is the result of years of research into Peruvian ethnobotany and the myriad health properties of its ingredients.