The Wonderful World of Dr. Deekay Exhibit by Camille Rose Garcia
This week I had the pleasure of attending my second exhibit of Camille Rose Garcia – The Wonderful World of Dr. Deekay at the Corey Helford gallery in Los Angeles, CA. My first exhibit I attended was Doomcave Daydreams in 2007 when I had the pleasure of meeting CRG in person. My husband and I have been long time fans of her pop surrealism & lowbrow art, and as we were visiting LA this week on vacation, we knew we had to stop by to see her newest exhibit.
Camille Rose Garcua’s Inspiration for The Wondeful World of Dr. Deekay
The backstory of this exhibit is pretty interesting. When you walk in the gallery you will find a handwritten note from CRG about the inspiration for this collection:
“The Roots of Deekay
All great stories are born from pain.
I’ve been deekaying slowing since my youth, one molar at a time. I’ve always known this would be my downfall but from this lifelong pain a story was born.
The dystopian fairytale “The Cabinet of Dr. Deekay” was written by me after a one week period involving 11 root canals, gum surgery and one tiny but HORRIFIC PILL THAT almost broke my mind.
But from this emerged an entire universe of BEAUTIFUL DEEKAY”
– CRG –
Camille Rose Garcia – LA SIRENA FANTASMA AND THE SEA OF THE DEAD
My husband and I were impressed by the massive showcase of this exhibit. The gallery premiered 36 new paintings, including water color paintings and 40 framed original sketches, puppets, 3D sculptures and a new mural on the gallery’s wall based on her illustrated book “The Cabinet of Dr. Deekay” which is a “dystopian horror fairytale” that is due out this summer.
Camille Rose Garcia 3D sculpture
Eric and I really enjoyed the 3D sculptures to the exhibit . This was a large tooth and if you stand on your tiptoes you can look at the decay on the top of the tooth.
Camille Rose Garcia figurines
CRG’s dabbled with her first stop-motion video based on this collection. It is produced in collaboration with Mark Meunier, best known for his work in “James and the Giant Peach” and one of my all time favorites “Coraline”. I have to note my daughter is named Coraline, so fierce love for anyone involved with that project.
Camille Rose Garcia 3D piece in “The Wonderful World of Dr. Deekay” exhibit
The details to every piece were impeccable. I particulariy liked this 3D piece. It shows a old fashioned hospital room where you’ll find Alex Winchester. Alex will be the character in her book inspired by her week long dental procedures. Alex wakes up in a strange hospital with parts of himself missing. You’ll note he has a lobster claw for one hand a whisk for the other. The instillation changed to different colors to add to the eerie effect.
Camille Rose Garcia “The Wonderful World of Dr. Deekay” exhibit
I love the playfulness of her art and how she manages to have the unique ability to blend cuteness with horror. She’s whimsical and yet dark at the same time.
Excerpt taken from The Cabinet of Dr. Deekay
My husband was particularly fond of the excerpt above taken from the The Cabinet of Dr. Deekay:
“The operation, my boy, was a smashing success!” crowed the doctor, “Behold…” he gestured tiny-handedly to the crowd of onlookers, then turned to the boy and stated with a triumphant finality, “We have successfully removed your face!”
OPERATION DISORDER by Camille Rose Garcia
The exhibit ran from May 12th – June 16th, 2018. I’m so thankful I was able to visit LA during this time and enjoy the psychedelic journey through the dental horror that CRG endured. Through her pain came so much sweet, sweet pleasure.
