Retail Ritual: Carlota Guerrero’s Photographic Exploration of Motherhood and Consumer Culture

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina – Carlota Guerrero’s first institutional solo exhibition, ‘Retail Ritual,’ presented at the National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of the Sarajevo Photography Festival, explores the intersection of motherhood, consumerism, and identity through seven large-scale photographs created entirely with an iPhone.

A Liminal Space of Disruption

The work, described as a blend of performance, conceptual practice, self-portraiture, and social observation, centers on the luxury fitting room – transforming it into a ‘liminal space’ where motherhood disrupts the carefully choreographed rituals of consumer culture. Guerrero’s process began after her daughter’s birth, marked by intense emotions and a recurring impulse to purchase luxury items, particularly heels and outfits. She recounts, “When Carmina was born, I thought I could kill for her. I did not recognize the woman who had this thought.”

Mirroring Time and Identity

Within these spaces, Guerrero documented her actions alongside her daughter, creating a ‘sustained search’ – a ritualistic process captured in the mirror. Curator Melanie Isabel García notes the work’s nature as “a cross between performance, sociological experiment, and postpartum ritual,” highlighting the significance of repetition as an artistic element. The mirrors themselves contain “several different timelines hidden in the reflections of the reflections,” encompassing the artist, her daughter, her mother, and a representation of Carlota as a child.

Redefining the Gaze

Guerrero’s practice consistently challenges conventional representations of women’s bodies. ‘Retail Ritual’ delves deeper, questioning how motherhood alters the act of looking itself. It examines the complexities of a body transformed by motherhood – simultaneously functional, public, nurturing, and exhausted – refusing to conform to idealized expectations. The work prompts reflection on perception, time, and embodiment, suggesting motherhood as a ‘radical reconfiguration’ rather than a fixed identity. Guerrero emphasizes acting before understanding, claiming spaces deemed unsuitable, and using image-making as a vessel for holding experience until it becomes comprehensible.

Insights from the Artist

Alessia Glaviano asks: “How did becoming a mother complicate your understanding of being looked at, desired, and represented?” Guerrero responds, “I have temporarily stopped wondering whether I am desirable. Motherhood is making being looked at feel less important, but also more complicated. My body has become public in very practical and medical ways, while no longer feeling entirely mine. It is functional, shared and occupied, but also miraculous, something to celebrate, even after being cut open by a C-section, full of new shapes, bruises, milk and blood.”