Carma II [Karma II]

Frida Kahlo’s self-portraits—her most persistent subject—are informed by her personal experiences, her extensive knowledge of Mexican cultural traditions, and her interest in modern art. Carma II recalls the automatic doodling techniques used by surrealists and the allover patterns favored by abstract expressionists. In this case, Kahlo explores the interconnectedness of all things through the concept of Karma, the notion that the sum of a person’s actions in this and previous lives will determine her fate in future existences. Several objects referring to Kahlo’s life are discernible in the loose matrix, including body fragments that seem linked to nature: Her unibrow becomes the sun’s horizon; plants grow from hands; and a thorny tree turns into a nasal breathing tube, perhaps a reference to Kahlo’s spinal surgery in 1946.