WILSHIRE CENTER

Sandy Skoglund’s large, pointedly collaged Cibachrome photographs of the ‘80s have acquired some cult status by now. “Maybe Babies,” a commentary on abortion and the Moral Majority (depicting a grumpy-looking woman who appears not to see a swarm of puffy, bald babies bawling and clutching and falling through the night air) is perhaps her most famous effort.

The most delicious of these works currently exhibited is “Radioactive Cats,” in which a gray, elderly couple with a gray refrigerator are invaded by an inquisitive group of bright green cats.

Accompanying the selection of Cibachromes is “The Fiction Portfolio.” In this 1986 series of 20 dye transfer images, Skoglund’s figures are either in the throes of ecstasy or caught in ambiguous mid-gesture. Some dwell in appliance-packed suburban interiors, others on mean urban streets littered with trashed cars. The slippery role of context as a key to deciphering body language seems to be the major point.

Lurid cyan (greenish-blue), magenta and yellow (the basic hues that combine to create “real” color in photography) are key actors in this photo-drama, although what their arbitrary presence adds to Skoglund’s theme isn’t always clear. (Fahey/Klein Gallery, 148 N. La Brea Ave., to Sept. 12.)