The painting ‘Gattara Uno’ (‘Cat Woman One’) uses a dense, dark visual language to depict precisely that tension between beauty, concealment and the uncanny that Bea Scaccia describes in her artistic self-conception. The excessive profusion of faux fur, pearls, fabrics, hair textures and decorative elements appears both precious and unsettling, as if feminine adornment had taken on a life of its own, almost parasitic. It is particularly striking that the supposed signs of elegance – pearls, jewellery, elaborate textures, decorative order – do not have a soothing effect, but instead create a sense of unease. It is precisely this that reflects Scaccia’s interest in the cultural link between female beauty and monstrosity: what begins as aesthetic refinement tips over into something unsettling, exaggerated and elusive. The painting appears to be in a state of limbo, as if it were telling a story of transformation, dissolution and self-assertion all at once. It thus becomes a visual reflection on a self that is constantly being reconstituted and yet never appears entirely stable. The work, executed in acrylic and airbrush, is in very good condition.Provenance: private collection; acquired from Galerie Maruani Mercier (invoice available).