Placed within the tropical landscape of MERCEDES are two topless pole dancers, whose presence, though integrated into the environment, are at odds with the primordial nature of the space. The perfection of the landscape, coupled with the presence of Pterodactyl-like birds flying overhead, creates a prehistoric illusion rooted in the sublimity of the untouched natural world. In this way, Cortright’s work draws on the ancient and the contemporary in an amalgamation of cultural and environmental references.

MERCEDES is a digital painting on hot press rag paper mounted on dibond.

Petra Cortright (b. 1986 in Santa Barbara, California) has exhibited both nationally and internationally at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, Whitechapel Gallery, London, Künstlerhaus, Halle für Kunst & Medien, Austria, and the Venice Biennale, Italy. Her work is held in the permanent collections of MOCA Los Angeles, MCA Chicago, and Kadist, Paris, among others.