What factors determine beauty and desirability in contemporary society? Which feminist strategies advance the cause for equality? These questions underpin Meléndez’s thematic choices. Committed to denouncing lukewarm empowerment campaigns in Puerto Rico that inadvertently perpetuate patriarchal attitudes towards women’s roles, the artist creates irreverent representations in which she often inserts her self-portrait. In this box construction the female figure on the bottom right mocks and laughs at the woman standing next to her, who looks out with a frustrated expression. On the backside of the piece, two women engage in a violent act: one appears with a swollen eye, while tearing out a piece of the other’s green hair. Reminiscent of puppet theaters, this work questions manifestations of feminism and the socio-cultural factors that contribute to narrow definitions of female beauty. 

Gisela Carbonell, Curator Rollins Museum of Art