Little Latsky x Delicious Monster

I first noticed Carla Latsky’s work a couple of months ago, wandering through Zeitz MOCAA one morning while we were on holiday in Cape Town.

The Home Is Where The Art Is exhibition (which has been extended until later this year), is a collection of art belonging to residents of Cape Town. I walked into one of the halls and think I must have seen something pink and walked right up to it, because I don’t remember seeing anything else but ‘Resting Bitch Flakes’ and was instantly smitten.

Fast-forward a few weeks and I made contact with Carla, explained what I do and that I really wanted to include some of her work as part of my new Curated Collection. We had a Zoom call and she explained more about her work and that ‘Resting Bitch Flakes’ was part of a solo exhibition called Pretty Average, held in 2019 at Alliance Francaise.

“Pretty Average was the title of my first exhibition of illustrations. I’ve always felt some degree of ambivalence towards my work, or at least since I chose design as a profession, and this project served as an expression of that. The imposter syndrome that weaves itself into the lives of so many designers became the foundation for a show that considers the many facets of feeling ‘pretty average’. Do we struggle to feel good about the things we make because we think their success reflects our self-worth? Maybe it’s that what we’ve dreamed up for our futures is a collection of achievements we’ve seen other people make. Of course, these dreams don’t take shape just as we imagined, because that isn’t how life works. But a little tenacity and a fake-it-til-you-make-it attitude go a long way. So the process of dressing up some household products in pink, with cheeky names that hint at familiar feelings of anxiety, depression, perfectionism and insecurity was fun and cathartic for me (as I hope all of my personal projects will be).”

The imposter syndrome that weaves itself into the lives of so many designers became the foundation for a show that considers the many facets of feeling ‘pretty average’. Do we struggle to feel good about the things we make because we think their success reflects our self-worth? Maybe it’s that what we’ve dreamed up for our futures is a collection of achievements we’ve seen other people make.

Imposter syndrome is something I have suffered with for a few years now, so the meaning behind these pieces definitely hit home. My struggles with is are not as bad as they first were (that shit took a lot of dealing with to finally figure out it was and how to manage it), but I know too well what it’s like to tango with self-doubt and feel like I shouldn’t be doing what I’m doing, constantly afraid of failing. As a creator myself I understand what it means to pour your heart and soul into things and then be left wondering whether it’s good enough or not.

Carla’s art is good enough, in fact, it’s way more than that, so I am very proud to be able to include some of her work in my Curated Collection.

About Carla

Carla is a South African designer and illustrator who works from home in Woodstock, Cape Town. She has experience designing editorial content, branding small businesses and illustrating. Latsky is her surname, it’s Polish (she isn’t) but most of her friends, teachers and colleagues have used it as a nickname from day 1, which she’s always liked. When Carla isn’t in front of her computer, you’ll find her making accessories, reading local zines or (pre-pandemic) in the crowds at exhibition openings and concerts in the city.