Local Artist Carmen Mesa is Caribbean Queen for December 2016

Each month, Caribbean Queen at the Palm Beach Plaza Mall honors one local female artist who lives and creates here. The Caribbean Queen program was launched when the store opened in late 2011, and has been running successfully ever since.

For the month of December 2016, local artist Carmen Mesa is the boutique's celebrated Caribbean Queen, showcasing her handcrafted framed 3D photographs.

Born in Colombia, she first arrived in Aruba 23 years ago. She was instantly captivated, she says, and fell in love with the island and its people. She then went traveling around Europe, stopping in France and Spain the longest. Ten years into her journey of discovery, she decided to come back to her Dushi Caribbean.

Photography has always been Carmen’s hobby, but for the past six years, she has delved deeper into it, capturing people, animals, and nature. She is especially fascinated by Aruba’s old cunucu houses, and they inspired her to create the Open Door series, on display at the boutique. The series celebrates Aruba’s open door—the hospitality, generosity, culture, curiosity, simplicity, imperfection, opportunity, independence, and freedom—which welcomed her back here.

The frames of Carmen’s photographs are made from pine wood. She makes them herself, layering two photos printed on two different types of paper, inside. As the images overlap, they achieve a 3D effect, with depth and perspective, showcasing the aging architecture, inside and out.

Caribbean Queen earmarks a percentage of all sales for its Tikkun Olam (Repair of the World) program. The collected funds are given annually to local not-for-profit organizations in an ongoing effort to serve the community. All the foundations served with donations from Caribbean Queen are dedicated to the promotion of art and artisan education on the island.

Enjoy unique framed 3D photographs by Carmen Mesa throughout the month of December, 2016.