translated from Spanish: “Precious Diseases” Book: A log of the work of the artist Cecilia Avendaño

The book Precious Diseases, rather than a monograph, can be taken as a blog, in an artistic language and Cecilia Avendaño’s five-year research process, in which – inspired by classical portrait, and through digital post-production – explores the contemporary problem of manipulating beauty and identity, and the somatization of the female body and its complex relationships with the psyche and culture.
The publication – a special bilingual edition of 500 numbered and signed copies – begins the last stage of the dissemination of the Precious Diseases project, in which the complete photo series of 20 images, of which eleven had remained unpublished.
The book, printed in collaboration with Ograma and distributed by Isabel Croxatto Galería, compiles in 160 pages texts in Spanish and English written by Andrea J.sch, curator of the project; the writer Rocío Cano, the Spanish researcher Elisa McCausland, and the art theorist Sergio Rojas. The graphic design of the book was by Patricio Vallejos, and includes illustrations by Daniela Ramírez and Alvaro Arteaga.
Botany plays a key role in the creation of Precious Diseases, which through 20 images consume and subvert Western notions of beauty by the emergence of plant hybrids on the bodies of women created digitally from digitally created from of the portraits of multiple models captured by the artist’s camera.
Cecilia Avendaño
She holds a degree in Visual Arts with a mention in Photography from the University of Chile.
His latest works consist of digital post-production operations based on photography, where he builds the images he then articulates to compose new portraits that mix elements from different models, thus operating under the concept of identity building. His works include the series Gems (2015-2019), e.Merge (2014-2015), Blow (2012) and PRIDE (2009).
During the last 15 years his work has been exhibited in numerous collective and individual exhibitions both in Chile and abroad, joining his participation in important international contemporary art fairs such as Art Central Hong Kong, Contemporary Istanbul, Art Miami, Sydney Contemporary, Swab Barcelona, Lima Photo and ArteBa, among others.
Among the spaces where he has exhibited alone or collectively, the National Museum of Fine Arts, Animal Gallery, Gallery Patricia Ready and Isabel Croxatto Gallery in Chile, and in Sicart Gallery in Spain. She has been awarded four times by the National Fund for Cultural Development and the Arts (FONDART) of the State of Chile between 2008 and 2018. In the same period she was selected to represent Chile in Foto Week DC, Washington DC, and in Photography and Identity at Korea Foundation, Seoul.

Original source in Spanish