Description

"I don't remember how or when I first saw Verónica Gómez's work, but it resonated deeply with me. I wrote to her to evaluate her work for a picture book, and when she sent me the series The Houses of Unusual Girls —which illustrates this book—I discovered the connection with Silvina. They were her dark girls. I told her so, and she only confirmed the 'unpremeditated' affinity. That's how the idea for this book began to take shape."

Verónica Gómez had unknowingly painted the Ocampo-esque girls and women in oils, and the game had only just begun. In her work, as in Silvina's, there is a disconnect between the narrator's naiveté and the cruelty of what is narrated. Her naive image disguises the sinister nature of them. They are all pale, many have white eyes, they are absent, they undergo metamorphoses—there is a ram girl, a forest lady, a hairy-chested girl, furniture girls—they seem to be in a trance or about to be abducted.
The details surrounding Verónica Gómez's little women, as well as those Silvina narrates to contextualize her stories, are excessive, meticulous, and kitsch. Using a wonderfully similar mechanism, Verónica Gómez paints a wealth of information around her girls.

I thought about inviting several writers who resonated with Silvina and proposing a challenge like those in the workshops: to write something inspired by the dark girls in Ocampo's stories. Whatever came out, something literary, essayistic, confessional. And they all said yes. It turns out that when women start knitting, nothing can stop them.
I went straight to the top leagues: Selva Almada, Mariana Enríquez, Inés Garland, Camila Fabbri, Virginia Cosin, Claudia Aboaf, Cecilia Szperling, Laura Ramos, Gabriela Larralde, and Sonia Budassi. I sent each of them a work by Verónica Gómez to serve as a starting point, and the magic happened.” — Guchy Fernández

Artist
Verónica Gómez

Authors
Selva Almada
Mariana Enriquez
Inés Garland
Camila Fabbri
Virginia Cosin
Claudia Aboaf
Cecilia Szperling
Laura Ramos
Gabriela Larralde
Sonia Budassi

Technical specifications
Edited by: Gata Flora
Year: 2024
Type: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Dimensions: 24 x 22 cm
Weight: 750 gr
Spanish
Pages: 112
ISBN: 978-631-00-4083-7