Hasta La Ideas

by Julie Wolfson

Beautiful and haunting, Sara Antoinette Martin‘s work depicts gorgeous women with long eyelashes sitting next to fish with teeth, skulls and mythic sea creatures. An animal skeleton dances with a chupacabra (a mythical hybrid creature) drinking red wine. An adorable dog wrapped in bandages sits on a bed of roses.

Upon the release of her new skins for Infectious and her plans for Alternative Press Expo APE and upcoming shows, we asked Sara to tell us more about her imagery, her plans for the future and working with Tara McPherson.

You grew up in Eastern Long Island and now live in Brooklyn. In what ways does your environment makes its way into your work?

I grew up on boats on the Great South Bay. I used to surf and fish and go beach camping. That is a big influence on my work, it is always about the water. I know how to sail. I learned on sunfishes. You can get kind of the same rush riding a bike, but nothing really beats being out on the water. Brooklyn affects my work because I am exposed to so much art.

What is a recent image or symbol that struck you to include in your work?

I like trying to adapt symbols and turn them upside down and play with them until they have a different meaning. My lady heads, for example, are piles of skull heads in bathing caps that have gills behind the ears.

Recently, I started doing a painting of this ball of seaweed. It looks like an iridescent yarn ball. For the show at Last Rites, I painted a girl with it coming out of her stomach. It represents that pit of depression that gnaws at your insides, a little ball of dead seaweed. For my next series of paintings, I want to concentrate more on portraiture. That’s the next direction.

Read more and see more images after the jump.