I have had this black and white photo of Frida to use as a reference for quite a while (below). After seeing so many portraits and self-portraits of Frida, the moment captured in this simple photo struck me as something true and authentic. Like maybe all those flowers in her hair, and her paintings with animals, and her striking use of color was not so much an expression of who she felt she was, but rather a compensation for what so many of us women fear … that we are not enough. Not feminine enough. Not pretty enough. Not colorful enough. Not friendly enough. Not enough of what the world expects us to be.
And so I chose to render her in black and white. And I think it is enough.
Frida Kahlo, True Colors, 2025.
