Tammy Salzl | Beautiful Parasites

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Tammy Salzl, "Puss Gets an Avatar," 2023

oil on canvas, 24" x 24". Courtesy of the Gallery.

Once upon a time, fairytales, myths and fables were stories of caution, filled with peril. In tales told at hearth sides across Europe, rosy cheeked children walked into mortal danger. The victories they earned and the lessons they learned were hard-won, and not without painful sacrifice. 

Beautiful Parasites by Tammy Salzl presents paintings, installations, video and sculptures that features a familiar cast of characters. She pulls from a vast library for inspirations, including Aesop’s Fables, the Brother’s Grimm and myths from ancient Greece, to name but a few. Salzl infuses her art with an unsettling aura. In her enchanted world, Salzl builds a home in which her deep concern for our planet and our society can reside. In this land, the beautiful merges with the grotesque, giving form to intense emotions of fear and anxiety that often defy words.  

Scored by award winning composer Greg Mulyk, a magical and haunting soundscape permeates the exhibition, enhancing a feeling of having stumbled through the looking glass. We are met with images of Gaia attempting a do-over, Puss in Boots building his own avatar to escape the pressures of his role and the remnants of Medusa strewn across a beach, after her mortal encounter with Persus.   

Powerfully relevant in today’s world, Beautiful Parasites is at once humorous and tragic. Like all great stories, the exhibition is shaped by the time and place in which was created. Venture forward into these enchanted woods, which are of our own making.