Pool Party Painting

My recent work reflects on the current rise of narcissism associated with the compulsive sharing and posting on social media. I am particularly interested in the representation of young girls and the way we continue to picture girlhood as sweet, pretty and pink, yet perversely domesticating and sexualising young girls from a very early age. The painting Pool Party deliberately problematizes the images that are circulated on social media, often serving to project idealised versions of ourselves. Bikini-clad ‘mean girls’ and vampiric adults strike poses that challenge the viewer to reflect on cruelty, competitiveness and power structures. According to Jean Baudrillard, ‘… it is the camera lens that, like a laser, comes to pierce lived reality in order to put it to death.’ We are living in a culture where the daily interaction with a multitude of visual messages is inescapable yet the full extent of social media’s influence on our lives is still unknown. The darker, more disturbing aspects of my work throw into sharp focus the dangers of losing lived experiences to the world of appearances.