Panther, Panther

Panther, Panther by Marina Simela. Mixed Media on Archival Paper. 16.5 x 23.25 in. Comes signed by Marina Simela and with a Letter of Provenance from 1XRUN.

This body of work is from Marina Simela's series titled "Pop Culture Chimera".

As a child of mixed parentage, raised by television and the internet. my perspective of the world was a mash up of breaking news, celebrity gossip, church scandals nature documentaries and cartoons. This amorphous blob of ideas has become the basis of my art.

The canvas paintings Polarity (2024) and Dogoborus (2025) were contemplations on the hermetic principle of polarity, which states “everything is dual; everything has a pair of opposites; like and unlike are the same; opposites are identical in nature but different in degree.” 

In the artwork ‘Blood in the streets’(2025), the inspiration comes from a quote by the 18th century banker, Baron Rothschild, “The time to buy is when there’s blood in the streets, even if that blood is your own.” The callousness of the quote and the cheerfulness of the painting create a memorable juxtaposition.

The inspirations for the artwork in this collection are varied and fascinating. From plumes of incense smoke, tp African wax print fabric with an American traditional tattoo twist, to cartoon characters with the teeth of a sea turtle (google ‘sea turtle teeth.’ You won’t be disappointed.)

Just like the mythical chimera is created from various parts. My artwork blends various parts of pop culture to create something new and unusual and I hope you find it entertaining.