MLMA looking at the camera holding a knife on one hand, on the other one a cell phone with which she’s taking a picture of a microwave that inside has a replica of her head; MLMA, or better said, her head, inside a freezer between ice bags, MLMA without eyes, MLMA with thousands of eyes; MLMA and her particular way of spending time in the laundry room… One thing is for sure, her Instagram page is very disturbing, but it seems like that’s exactly why she’s loved by more than nine hundred thousand followers who applaud and comment her every move.
MLMA, THE ARTIST OF THE FUTURE WHO’S KILLING IT IN THE PRESENT
MLMA has managed to create a unique style in which she mixes post-human, DIY and cyborg elements. Her images are flooded by distorted faces as well as the use of copying and pasting to create twin versions or doppelgängers of herself which you won’t be able to forget. And no, even though we can see her dressed in Gucci with her head under her arm on her Instagram page, Alessandro Michele didn’t include her on the Fall/Winter 2018 runway show, even though he perfectly could have.
It’s easy to say that she’s become one of the most recognisable artists on social media, but this has only been the case for the past two years. Born in Seoul, MLMA comes from a humble upbringing where her family couldn’t spend much money on toys. As she had no Barbies, MLMA would make her own dolls out of toilet paper; that’s how she entertained herself, drawing and making arts and crafts. And she continues to do so, playing around with copying and pasting, creating images of an unquestionable strength that move around the very fine and thin line between horror and beauty.
