Powerpuff girls 

Fernanda Suarez’s contemporary digital painting, "Powerpuff Girls," reimagines the iconic cartoon characters as young women. This artwork taps into complex questions about the representation of women, childhood, and power within popular culture. The original Powerpuff Girls emerged in the late 1990s, a moment of increased visibility for girl-centric media, yet also a period rife with debates about femininity. Suarez's transformation invites us to reconsider the girls' infantilized innocence through a mature lens, questioning the viewers' expectations of female characters and their roles. The artist creates meaning through her choices. She references an established visual language which brings with it cultural references and historical associations, such as the bright colors, short dresses, and girlish hairstyles. The artist is commenting on these established tropes. She also plays with institutional histories of the cartoon industry. To understand this fully, we’d want to research the context around animation and gender in the late 20th century. The artist is making us reflect on our own position. What do we expect from depictions of women? How do these expectations relate to power?