The Two Fridas by Frida Kahlo and Gianluca Folì expands on one of Kahlo's childhood memories.
In Kahlo's own words, readers experience one of her memories from when she was six years old and had an imaginary friend. Kahlo finds her friend after she walks through an imaginary door into a colorful world full of clothed animals and dancing skeletons, and Kahlo instantly knows she can be herself with her her new pal. When it's time to come back to "reality," Kahlo simply waves her hand and the imaginary world disappears, keeping her secrets and problems safely locked away.
Folì's mixed media illustrations are fairly muted at the beginning, and there is a heavy focus on white space from start to finish. The spread of young Frida diving into her imaginary world--from the verso page into the recto page, from white space into a page entirely filled with color--marks a transition in media and tone for the story as we are all welcomed into Frida's colorful world. It's worth noting that Folì never tries to mimic Kahlo's body of work, but rather draws inspiration from her color palette and love of animals to create a wholly new and unique view peek the artist's mind.
The Two Fridas published last month from Schiffer Kids!
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