Dina Gadia presents a solo show in 20SQUARE called Contra-Affair. Known for her collages, Gadia enjoys mixing pop art rock and roll inspired images, and putting them together to create an entirely new context.

In Contra-Affair, Gadia uses three mediums: painting, collage and sculpture to explore “affairs of ideas/images that go against each other”—from a muscle man in a graveyard to a children’s textbook illustration with punk graphics.

She likens her mix and match of images to dating. “If the images seem like their playfully flirting with one another, at the same time, ‘never trusting and committing’, then I'll make them stick together.” The resulting affair between contrasts or ironies becomes something else entirely. For example, by adding the text “mamaw” (monster) into the muscle man-graveyard mix, the transformation from man to beast becomes complete. In each new “affair”, she purchases a new identity for the images by defining the images against each other.

Because Gadia “cracks the images to open the possibilities of new meaning”, her work is witty, often times in your face, but always thought-provoking. Will the contra-affair work? Or, will it be over before it starts? Like Gadia, one can only guess how long the affair will last and challenge the expected.

Words by Bea Davila