Barbie Causes the Downfall of Ken, Who Then Rules Barbie Forever Print

I was inspired to use Albrecht Durer's beautiful 1504 engraving, "Adam and Eve" as the basis of the composition for this painting. I was working on a series of Barbie paintings at the time, and Durer's composition seemed the perfect vehicle for commentary on patriarchy and gender inequality in the context of popular culture. In Genesis 3 of the Christian Bible, Eve eats of forbidden fruit given to her by a snake, and she shares the fruit with Adam. Their eyes are opened to reveal the shame of their nakedness, they try to cover themselves, and are exiled from the Garden of Eden. Eve is blamed for the transgression, and as punishment, she is to be ruled by men forever. I would like to convey the idea that patriarchy as something ordained by God is as absurd portraying Adam and Eve as a couple of plastic dolls. The dolls have no anatomy to hide and no shame, and the perfection of their bodies is also absurd. I painted this artificial scene realistically from a maquette that I created using real Barbie and Ken dolls and artificial props.