If you want to follow the sage advice of the ever-so-trendy Spice Girls, come “Spice up you life!” with the newest exhibit at the MacLennnan Gallery of Asian Art-“Spicy Girl.”

Siona Benjamin showcases a variety of mixed-media works with her latest show.

Her artwork deals with her experiences in both the United States and India by combining traditional Indian religious symbols with contemporary American culture.

The title of the exhibit, “Spicy Girl,” refers to the stereotypical image of Asian women being “hot” or “spicy.”

Throughout the pieces, there is a frequent representation of a blue Indian woman. Blue is the color often used to depict Krishna, a Hindu God.

Benjamin stated, “I am particularly inspired by the figure of the many-handed female deity . I now recreate her as a symbol of a woman today, capable of performing many roles.”

The mixed-media consists of paintings, sculptural pieces and installations.

Nanette Boileau, curator of the MacLennan Gallery, said, “Installations are where you install a piece in a gallery. It comes off the wall or from the ground, and it creates an environment.”

The various installations that are present throughout the gallery often have rice that has been dyed red.

According to Boileau, “The rice resembles the female form, and the red symbolizes spiciness.”

The combinations of American culture and Indian tradition are often surprising to see.

One piece by the entrance of the gallery is a statue of a traditionally dressed Indian woman with American flags in her hands.

Another piece, “First Day,” consists of a small box in which there is lipstick on one side and a figure of an Indian woman in a yoga position on the other. The box is then placed on a Western-inspired column, which once again shows the mixing of cultures.

The melding of Western influences with native traditions is one with which many immigrants can identify.

However, the pieces also deal with the more universal theme of the clash between the contemporary and the traditional.

As Boileau said, “Within the United States, people are fighting about the traditional and contemporary. With education and religion, we are fairly traditonal, but then computers and technology bring the idea of the future.”

The piece “Three Faces of Eve” reflects the contemporary combining with the traditional. A computer keyboard is covered with images of a blue Indian woman and a number of hands are projecting from the keyboard.

As Benjamin stated, “I transform and mutate the old and new until I forge a different identity-my own identity-a hybrid.”

The exhibit runs from Sept. 13 until Oct. 27 in the MacLennan Gallery, which is located in Busch Memorial Center.

The opening reception with Benjamin is this Friday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.