Strength 2020

Curator: Standing before us is "Strength," an acrylic on canvas piece crafted by Zoe Hawk in 2020. Editor: Immediately, I’m struck by the composition—the elongated verticality lends it a dreamlike quality. The pastel palette, particularly the muted pink and yellows, evokes a feeling of serene melancholy. Curator: Hawk's work often explores themes of childhood and feminine identity within constrained social frameworks, reflecting anxieties and vulnerabilities beneath seemingly idyllic surfaces. This particular work touches on themes of internal fortitude in a challenging epoch. Editor: I find the almost naive application of paint quite affecting. The rendering of the girl’s dress, and the simplified features of the lion, foregrounds materiality itself, creating a tactile experience even at a distance. Note, too, the slightly off-kilter framing of the painted landscape behind the girl; it mirrors an unsettled affect. Curator: Consider also how the image repurposes classical symbols in the visual vocabulary, from folk traditions and children’s stories that instill cultural concepts of courage in women from a very young age. How effective is that symbol-laden method in today’s social climate, what does that repurposing entail? Editor: Semiotically speaking, the roses are crucial. Scattered on the floor, adorning the girl and the lion, they are a motif loaded with meaning—love, fragility, beauty, even death. Their yellow hue against the cool gray floor amplifies this contrast, contributing to the painting's bittersweet affect. The portrait within the portrait also intrigues. Curator: Absolutely. And the juxtaposition of the girl gently petting the docile, stuffed lion underscores a dialogue between exterior appearances and interior strength. It’s the kind of strength fostered in girlhood narratives through societal pressures and how individuals cope. Editor: It seems as though Hawk intentionally subverts a straightforward narrative, leading us towards an exploration of deeper, more nuanced emotional and even intellectual spaces. Curator: Seeing through that interpretation, Hawk has given the cultural critic much to ponder. Editor: Indeed, "Strength" is not merely a pleasing image; it’s a finely tuned composition meant to inspire prolonged, thoughtful consideration.