Gembira Loka

Gembira Loka (name of the zoo) bears Erica's signature style of colourful, almost caricature like personas coupled with a playful atmosphere busy with details, making her unique style easily recognisable and a temporary departure from reality. Her works are often compared to children's paintings, though this has been advantageous for her as the appeal for her works is readily spread across a wide demography. The beauty also lies in its simplicity hence. There is no groundbreaking artistic philosophy challenging profound social issues. The value of the work hinges on the enjoyment the viewer receives in looking at it and understanding it instantly, and not so much the curatorial knowledge that should be exhorted out from her work.

Erica paints one of her favourite subjects in the present lot, that of the animal kingdom at the zoo thus allowing her to include many other animals and at the same time increased the depth of her work through a multi-base perspective, that is the layering of the components in her work in varying sizes to create different dimensions whilst on the flat plane of the canvas. If observed closely, her all time favourite animal, the elephant, can be spotted in this work. The vibrant colours applied heighten the celebratory mood of the work, with the smiling subjects enhancing the happy and delightful fantasy the artist is sharing with the viewer. All this perhaps an extension of the artist's easy going personality.