Mónica’s art is both visual and philosophical—a dialogue between the body, identity, and social perception. Each portrait becomes a mirror of human resilience, exploring how scars, differences, and imperfections are sources of truth and beauty.

Her practice combines acrylic, graphites, textiles, inks, and illustration, merging her backgrounds in fashion and fine art. Inspired by thinkers such as Arthur Danto and Judith Butler, she challenges standardized notions of beauty, showing that our individuality is the most authentic form of art.

“A condition is not a destiny—it’s a canvas for pride and art.”

Inspired by Arthur Danto’s idea that “art is the mirror that returns the gaze of our cultural identity” (The Transfiguration of the Commonplace, 1981), the artist reconfigures the human face through plastic arts, exploring textures, colors, and distortions that not only evoke an empathetic perspective but also question pre-established notions of perfection.

Bachué employs mixed techniques—sculpture, acrylic on canvas, illustration, inks, and layered textures—to embed personal stories within her works. These portraits do not merely replicate what a camera might capture; instead, they reveal the emotional and lived essence of the subjects. As Slavoj Žižek argues in The Fragile Absolute (2000), “what we see in the face of the other is our own fragility reflected,” a notion that guides every brushstroke and artistic decision in her work.

Rather than viewing deformity as something to be corrected, Mónica reframes it as a visual and social opportunity to question prejudice. Her textured portraits—woven, stitched, and layered—encourage empathy and redefinition of what we consider beautiful.

Each work becomes an act of resistance, a call for inclusivity, and a testament to the idea that difference is our greatest aesthetic asset.

The artist’s life is deeply intertwined with her work. Born with a cleft lip, her personal experience has been a constant driving force in her artistic practice. This biographical connection imbues her work with authenticity and urgency. As Roland Barthes explains in Camera Lucida (1980), “every work that profoundly affects the viewer carries within it the punctum, the wound that pierces the artist.” For Mónica Bachué, the punctum is not only her personal experience but also the empathy she conveys by making visible the stories that are often silenced.

Her work also engages with Judith Butler’s ideas on performativity, asserting that identity is neither static nor singular but rather an ongoing construction negotiated between the individual and society (Gender Trouble, 1990). In her art, the face—particularly the scarred face—becomes a symbol of resistance against dominant social narratives that dictate what deserves to be seen.