This image invites the viewer to a realm where the distinction between reality and fantasy is blurred. The photographer employs many strange elements that invoke a sense of revulsion. A girl with no legs sits atop a cage with nails; a man is sprawled across the floor with cuts on his chest. Various references to other artworks are posted around the room, giving a sort of provenance to this new image. This piece, though sharing the same title as Goya's Las Meninas, has entirely different connotations. Instead of a familial portrait made for royalty, Witkin shows a near freak show. Everything is distorted and grotesque, giving the viewer a reminder that not everything is as it seems. There is a darker side to everything we view at surface level.
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