Halloween Special: Lala’s Breast Implant Haunted. Needs Removal.

Hauntings take place in houses…Sometimes objects can even house dark spirits or entities.  On Friday the 23rd of October, Lala Drona announced that she would be having surgery to remove her left breast implant and undergo a mastectomy.  To the press, Lala Drona released a statement saying:

“It has been 16 years since my operation to correct my left-breast agenesis.  When I was 15 years old, the doctors thought it was best to augment the left breast in order to match the right breast which developed.  I have no regrets.  However, the breast implant is too old, and I am left with a choice:  to undergo the same operation…or to remove the breast implant and reduce the right breast to match it.  I choose the ladder.”

Lala Drona continued on to explain why.  She talked about her research into the health effects of silicone in the body, and the inevitability to be forced to have another surgery in order to replace the implants once again.  She mentioned the maintenance of having to see doctors every year to survey the implants in case of a rupture.

“I don’t want a life framed by my breasts.  I want to be free, and I’m willing to give up the right one if it means I can move on, and live a healthier life.”

Although the speech was moving, journalists of the L.D. Times decided to dig further.  They found that Lala Drona was using this story to cover up something much more sinister.

Strange and violent events began to take place around Paris.  A woman on a subway train, stopped at station Pont Marie, scratched her face until the bone was exposed.  She kept saying, “I don’t want to be pretty anymore.”  

Then, near the Cite des Arts, where Lala Drona had her last exhibition, a man was found smashing the bottom part of his legs with a large rock of concrete.  His legs were already quite thin, so it didn’t take much to remove all the flesh.  Rumors said that he kept repeating: “I can’t get my calf muscles to grow.”

The final event had taken place in a bus.  A woman broke a window abruptly, and used a glass shard to cut the fat off of her stomach, repeating: “They say, take it off!”  She was wrestled to the ground, and luckily, she survived.

Investigative journalists found that all of these events had one thing in common.  Lala was there.  She had been walking near the Cite des Arts, when the man began smashing his legs with a rock of concrete.  Below Lala walking on the street, the subway train containing the woman who scratched her face to the bone had stopped at station Pont Marie.  The bus with the woman who tried to cut off the fat from her belly had also stopped nearby.  

Lala Drona

When confronted by journalists regarding the bizarre coincidences, she allowed her partner Drone No.1 to come clean for her.  He told the crowd that recently they had found that Lala Drona’s breast implant was haunted, and that although they would not be able to disclose the means in which they would have to neutralize the  threat, they would be taking care of it, and that everything would be handled by November 1st.

The process or procedure the Drones and Lala would take to relieve her body of the haunting… that, we do not know.  However, we do know that her medical operation is not scheduled until February 2021.  This means that the Lala will have to find a way to either live with the dangerous spirits inside the implant, or find a way to calm them.  One way or another, she will have to house them, in her chest, through the winter.

To see more about Lala Drona’s breast experience and art, watch the video below, or check out her website http://www.laladrona.com

Social Media using us: “The Like Me”

The newest addition to artist Lala Drona’s video series “La Minute Ladrona (The Stolen Minute)” has just been released:  Title:  “The Like Me” (video below.)

As if social media were a cosmic invader on the human species, the video begins with a view of Earth from outer space, and lands in Lala Drona’s home city, Paris, France. The viewer finds the artist underground, inside an air shaft.  Alone, and illuminated only by the light of her phone, she begins to voice opinions and expressions that have become all too familiar to anyone growing up post-millennial.    

The performance art video “The Like Me” delves into the isolating effects of social media through its guise of connection.  This video experience, examines the normalised anxiety we feel on a daily basis.

The art performance video series “La Minute Ladrona” exists within the context of a confined space.  The black backdrop and  unknown location capture the viewer for a moment of intimacy through the screen.  However, “The Like Me” stands to be the first time Lala Drona has located herself in the context of our outside world— now injecting elements of story into this video series.

“The Like Me” being the 7^th, and most recent instalment, has critics and academics alike seeing the beginnings of an evolution regarding the art video series.  As one critic in the L.D. Confidential stated: “The Like Me is the first time that Lala Drona has played with the idea of space and context.  She has become a being which exists in our shared world, albeit still hidden in the dark corners of it.  She is publicly appropriating the role of “observer.”  The detailed work regarding lighting, place and concept, shows a confidence and artistic maturity.  This new instalment promises more exciting things to come regarding Lala Drona’s work.”

This video has Art fans asking if this video is a sign of coming changes in Lala Drona’s social media presence. Perhaps this video is what remains from the journey she’s made from tool to master. One thing is certain: the creation of this piece shows us that no one is immune to the effects of social media. Even when an artist attempts to evade it, its omnipotence proves itself by resurfacing in her work.

Chalie Malonie, Digital ArtWorld Newsletter

Questioning Our Images: The Female Frame

Examination of the image becomes vital in a period of history marked by the smartphone and its accessibility to image and video creation.  Lala Drona inspires others to question the origins of our daily images through her research into topics concerning le regard (the gaze).

Female Frame, 2019, Acrylic on Canvas, 20cm x 20cm

During her appearance at the Bienvenu Art Fair at the Cité des Arts in Paris, journalist and video editor Mathieu Mieleszko followed Lala Drona to document the release of her painting “Female Frame.”  In this video, Mieleszko delves into the artist’s intention behind the painting, and provides a link between her artistic universe and its real-world applications.  His cinematographic style in this video is influenced by concepts behind the piece, mimicking le regard which follows behind the artist during the exhibition.  The style critiques the traditional objectification of women depicted through the male gaze, as women in the video are not simply objects to be seen, but instead look back (appearances by: video artist Jamika Ajalon, and stained glass artist Alison Koehler).   

Lala states that her present work on the female gaze examines “issues in the lack of diversity in the transmission of images and stories throughout history.  Our images predominantly come from creators of the same profile (male, white, heterosexual).  It’s not to say that these stories are not important, it’s to say that it’s time to share the stage.  We want different stories, a broader understanding of the diverse human condition.  And it’s time to bring commonly silenced voices to the forefront.”

Video still from Mieleszko’s film

 Her painting “Female Frame” not only inspires others to question the profile of the person behind our images, but also the corporate and political entities.  “We are bombarded with too many images today, in the form of Instagram, and other social networks.  Advertisers and political campaigns are able to post images at the same level of importance as the images from our friends and community.  The infinite scroll feature facilitates the mindless consumption of these images, and we are only beginning to see the negative effects of this.” 

            Lala Drona intends to create three paintings under the concept of “the female frame.” 

Video editing by Mathieu Mieleszko:
https://vimeo.com/user20455396
Music in video by Sim Hutchins:
https://soundcloud.com/simhutchins
https://simhutchins.bandcamp.com/

L.D. Times Article 2019: Clare Steele and Lala Drona

The L.D. Times releases its yearly article in a new format, this time doubling its artist coverage. Clare Steele (Australia) and Lala Drona (France), talk about their digital friendship, and what it means to be an artist today.

Full Article

Lala Drona, painter / videaste, and Clare Steele, conceptual documentary photographer, first met in Seville, Spain in June 2018. They met in an all-female artist residency, and with Ezra Enzo (USA), abstract painter, became a solid international artist trio.

“They really bounce well off of one another,” said other artists-in-residence about the trio. “Since the residency, they’ve been able to keep in contact and support one another from 3 different continents through voice message.”

When approached about the topic, Lala Drona stated, “I’m so happy to have these women in my life. This is an artist friendship that represents our times: Three strong female artists, living in different countries, empowering one another by sharing our experiences through smartphone applications, in long-form voice notes. Sometimes I feel like these voice-notes are our contemporary letter-writing.”

When Clare Steele visited Paris, France in October this year, it was essential that they finally record one of these conversations. Click below to read the full article.

L.D. Times Article: Artist to ArtistFull Article

To read all L.D. Times articles, click here.

Art meets Big Data: Lala joins competitors

Ever since Lala Drona’s groundbreaking (albeit controversial) work with Muse inspiration extraction, a wide range of Muse Services have continued to pop up.  Her invention of the industry has birthed innovations in Artist-Muse services and has revolutionised the way we think about inspiration, redefining the roles artists/muses play within the act of creation.  Thanks to these developments, we can find more that 1000 Artist-Muse/Inspiration services spread across Western Europe and the Eastern United States today.

Since the genesis of the industry, Lala Drona has decided to branch out.  Her investment in her European Art tour has left her strapped for cash, and it couldn’t have come at a worse time.  Lala Drona’s next art project with Lala Laboratories is bigger than ever.  Sources say that in order to make some extra cash, Lala Drona is taking on a side-hustle, offering her expertise to other muse services. 

She has been spotted on 3 different occasions with higher-ups from the company AMServices (Artist-Muse Services), a service which enables artists to test out their Muse’s ideas on mass audiences in an online system.  In this system, artists are able to test their muse’s ideas, tweak them, and test them again.  The system keeps track of every variation of the idea, and lets the artist test all the versions simultaneously in real time.  The artist can compare each version of the idea by diverting audiences to each one, and observing how each performs.  By doing this, the artist can select the highest performing version of the idea and use that one for creation.

AMServices has been criticised by many in the art world, as many find it to be “Big Brotheresque,” some having described the service as “the art world meets Big Data.”  Even Lala herself has accused the service of “taking the soul out of creation by commercialising ideas and adapting them to a mass audience…all in the aim of making more money.” 

Despite all of this, AMServices sticks to their vision of “data as a tool,” denying intentions to commercialise or “main-stream” ideas.  AMServices Founder Anita DeBlanca made a statement in 2017 saying “We provide data services.  What our clients decide to do with that data is their choice.”

The verdict is still out regarding Lala’s updated views on AMServices, and sources have not been able to confirm what Lala Drona’s involvement with the company will be.  Either way, this unexpected move has the art world on the edge of their seats, anticipating future innovations expected to come from this collaboration.

Artist Family Values: Lala begins research

Lala Drona spotted at exhibition

In an interview with Art & Stylin’ Magazine, Lala Drona said that she has been “taking a break from output to reassess.”  The artist stated that she continues to work on creative projects, but in order to dive deeper into other projects, social media and blog posts had to be put on the back-burner:

“I’ve reduced my output online because of my commitment to essential projects offline. I came to the realization that in my journey as an artist, my values seem to be holding me back, creatively and otherwise. The troubling thing is, these values I speak of, arise, and stop me from moving forward; they are walls that do not explain themselves. I’ve realized that for better or worse, these values have been transmitted to me, through exterior sources. I’ve never taken a moment to work through the voices policing me to be a “good” person, or “good” artist. Because I like the person I have become, and I like the life I lead today, I have never thoroughly investigated the origins of these “values.” Now that I am an adult, and no longer a young person clutching on to stable things in an unstable reality, it’s time to unpack them. I’ve decided to begin writing about my values as an artist, to find out what it means to be an artist today in this new world.”

Thibaut Narme, Economics Lecturer and friend of Lala Drona

Lala Drona was spotted at Au Chat Noir interviewing Thibaut Narme, a lecturer at a business school in Paris.  Sources say that Lala Drona was researching for a section of the essay that examines free market capitalism and the role of the artist within it.  She mentioned other topics in the essay would include Death to the bohemian artist and The young and the mature artist.

“My European Art Tour was enlightening.  I feel like I’m finally seeing everything from outside myself—starting to see the strings of how everything works—I’ve been seemingly invited to the game my whole life, but it’s only now that I finally understand the rules. I’ve definitely had to take an unconventional path to get them.  Now, I’m finally getting ready to play.”

For some experts, these statements raise red flags.  As Lala Drona has not yet left the doghouse regarding her reputation involving allegations of muse abuse.  However, after her stint in Paris Art Prison, she seems to have turned over a new leaf, committing herself to use everything she’s learned through her experiences (and muse experiments!) to help her fellow artists.

Lala Drona is also preparing for participation in the group exhibition “Turtle Bienvenu” at the Cité des Arts in Paris—the opening on October 12^th from 6pm-11pm.  Lala Drona plans to continue her exploration of the female gaze, in the form of painting on canvas and in a video performance.  Don’t miss her first show since returning to Paris.

The Art Gorgeous’ artists to know: “Three fresh takes on the female gaze”

What are the male and female gaze, and why are they so important to art history? On Tuesday August 13th, The Art Gorgeous published an article exploring just that. The article titled “Three fresh takes on the female gaze” by Katya Lopatko featured three artists which “are embracing and extending the female gaze, shaping the future of the art world with each stroke”(Lopatko).

Lala Drona, along with artists Helen Beard, and Samantha Louise Emery were chosen as “artists to you should know” when communicating the female gaze through paint on canvas. Read the article here: https://theartgorgeous.com/three-fresh-takes-female-gaze/

Performance at Le Castel to promote NEW Laboratory

Title: Speak or Listen, Acrylic on canvas 50cm x 60cm

Last week, Lala Drona brought down the house with her debut performance in French at Le Castel, a private club  located in the 6^th arrondissement of Paris. 

Le Castel was founded by the French event coordinator, Jean Castel in 1962.  Many knew Jean Castel as “le roi des nuits parisiennes” (the king of Parisian nights), Private performances, artist-types and parties continue to roll through this institution today.   In the basement of the building, there are sofas and chairs surrounding a stage. On the stage last week, the painting titled “Speak of Listen” by Lala Drona was displayed.  Performance artist Wenjue Zhang, placed black boxes containing peep-holes around the room.  Inside said boxes, lied an image, erotic and explicit…saturated in colour.  Hypnotic music began to play in the background, and Lala Drona stepped onto the stage… (video below).

Lala Drona’s performance titled “Experiment 88: Speak or Listen” recounts an artist’s (Jade Edwards’) experience in Lala Laboratories.  The artist is the subject in an experiment that will result in artistic revelation (article continues below):

still from performance at Le Castel

Sources say that this performance serves as an advertisement for the new Lala Laboratory.  Since 2014, Lala has had quite a bit of trouble due to her unconventional inspiration extraction methods from muses.  She has gone to Art Prison, inspired muse protests and strikes, and inadvertently caused changes in muse rights legislature. After the Lala Laboratory explosion in 2016, Lala Drona has simultaneously been looking for a place to put down roots, whilst also dodging investigations into inhumane Lala Laboratory experiments.

still from performance at Le Castel

Since 2017, Lala Drona has been traveling the world in the form of an exhibition tour.  She stated last week, “I’ve been traveling in order to look for a new place for Lala Laboratories. And finally, I’ve found it.”  Lala Laboratories, formerly “The Lala Laboratory” had to change its name due to copyright issues, but according to Lala, that wasn’t the only change that took place. “Lala Laboratories no longer includes muses in their research and experiments.  After the protests, the project got a bad rap.  It was almost impossible to get anything done due to new bureaucracy and protections.  Now, thanks to the former muse experiments, we’ve collected all the data that we need, and it’s time to open our experiments to their proper demographic.  Now, Lala Laboratories serves to enhance artist inspiration and methods, through experiences catered to each individual artist.  The performance at Le Castel was a simulation of that…sort of an advertisement for the new laboratory, if you will.”

When questioned about the location of Lala Laboratories, Lala explained: “It took going all over the world, and encountering every problem imaginable to get to the solution.  Lala Laboratories has installed itself in the intangible: in the virtual spaces online, in every conversation, and in every collaboration and project connecting to us.  If you have interacted with myself, my Drones, muses, and my community in any way, you ARE part of Lala Laboratories.”

Drone Kesabe breaks routine with “Creatures of Habit”

Lala Drona was expected to perform at Paris Lit Up’s magazine release party last week. Instead, Drone Kesabe, an assistant to Lala Drona, was sent to stand in for Lala in her absence.

Once called to the stage, Drone Kesabe explained to the audience that Lala Drona had been held up during her art research. She stated that Lala Drona had been conducting art experiments to find the perfect colour, a color too strong for the human eye, a deadly color: “…Essentially a colour that kills” she said. Lala Drona and her team had some sort of breakthrough, and so she was unable to come to the event.

Drone Kesabe then began to read Lala’s poem to the audience in a low and airy voice:

(Creature of Habit)

These creatures look for the familiar in the unfamiliar. Tell me, why do you put on shoes?  Only to walk with blind feet.  You process a new place based on past processes.  The past with its conquering mentality—in your mind—time cannibalizes itself, past taking present.  Is there a reason you can only see back in time, but not forward?  Creatures of habit, only see what they know, and this is how I come to you “th-th-th-th-th-th.”

Repetition, monotony, boredom, commitment, dedication, loyalty, rigor: you play me over and over, conjuring my face in every note of that song—the song that was playing when the Thing happened.

 I’ll stay with you and tell you what to do, so the Thing doesn’t happen again, you think—

–And I let you know that your instincts are shit, listen to me, I was there, and I’ll keep you safe. 

Creatures of habit, based on a fact, based on a television, based on a story…this only serves to take me with you—in your mind—. 

Perched on your back making nests of knots in your shoulders, making my way to your belly—Let me stay here a bit while you recognize the pattern of that familiar ceiling in the walls of this unfamiliar venue.  The same pattern of where the Thing happened, when you had no control, I came, that’s where we met the first time.

Watch the new patterns, registered by old ones, process, tilt you head back further, further, thaaat’s it. “th-th-th-th-th” stop breathing now because the past doesn’t breathe, and we never left that moment—in your mind—I’m here with you, when no one else will be.  And I’ll never leave you, not if you keep looking…looking for our familiar in the unfamiliar.  Creature of habit. 

Poem “Creatures of Habit” by Lala Drona © 2019

The launch party went off without a hitch while artists, poets and creative-types mixed and popped off celebratory champagne. As for the work Lala Drona is developing behind the scenes, our investigative journalists haven’t seemed to be able to get beyond Drone Kesabe’s statement at the PLU launch party.

Based on a Fact caught up with art trend expert Valerie Cogie who weighed in on the situation. “If we take a look at Lala Drona’s paintings, it’s quite obvious that she’s chosen to express through the grayscale. As stated in previous interviews, this was due to her reaction to traveling the world. She stopped seeing the world in binary oppositions: black/white, right/wrong… and started paying more attention to the in-betweens…the grays. Perhaps, she has reached a point where she wants to start incorporating colour into her painting universe. I’d rather not speculate further on the psychological implications of this.”

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The Beard: Lala’s newest video gets hairy

Just released, Lala Drona’s newest art video “The Beard,” makes waves amongst the digital masses (video below). The newest instalment in her video series La Minute Ladrona (the stolen minute) has fans deliberating the true meaning behind the video.

Lala Drona with Jamika Ajalon

The artist covers topics in beard history, possibly linking beard trends to the different waves of women’s liberation. She unpacks the contemporary and metaphorical beard in a playful and enigmatic way.

The video stays true to Lala Drona’s iconic style. Moving video interacts with static digital image, while she whispers poetry over a black backdrop. However, this piece takes a documentary-style spin, diving into the beard as historical artefact, and looking into its influence on society as a whole. For the first time in the video series, Lala Drona incorporates audio from other authors/vocalists: one cameo by performance artist Jamika Ajalon, recorded specifically for this project.

Video still from “The Beard”

A series first, Lala Drona also collaborated with someone else during the performance part of the video project. “What makes this video groundbreaking [within the series] is that Lala Drona shares the screen with someone else! Drone No.1 from the Lala’s created universe has crossed over into the La Minute Ladrona Series! Long live Drone No. 1!!!!” (digitalfire58, Dronauniverse Forum).

Drone No.1, a favourite in the Lala Drona Universe, has caused fans to come out of the woodwork, reminiscing on the Drone No.1 saga, and praising his return in the form of internet memes.

Not surprisingly, the appearance of Drone No.1 has inspired conspiracy theories that Lala Drona will soon return to her work on the Lala Laboratory, after a long pause due to her European Art Tour. Others speculate on how this video came about, pointing to the easter eggs left in social media posts from Lala Drona’s European travels.

Either way, we are impressed with the trailblazing evolution of her work. This video marks a stylistic shift. “The Beard” art video is a must-see. Below, a link to the video. We also suggest seeing all of the “La Minute Ladrona” video series found here.