MM-Mao: Applause (from the Legend to Legend series)

Ronald Manullang is known for depicting known individuals and popular figures in provocative ways. In MM-Mao: Applause (from the Legend to Legend series), the artist uses Marilyn Monroe as an allegory of the western capitalistic world. The provocative amalgam between the American sex symbol and the Chinese dictator Mao Zedong is reinforced by the use of the red colour known as the colour of communism but here used to define the very sensual lips of Marilyn Monroe and her nail polish as well as a brightly vibrant scarlet background.