Green Cinderellas 2022

Zoe Hawk painted “Green Cinderellas”, probably in the early 2000s, I reckon, using acrylic paint in a thin, almost illustrative manner. The evenness of the paint application and the smooth blending suggest the artist values a certain level of finish, which is interesting, given the fantastical narrative elements. The color palette is a bit unusual, isn’t it? The slightly acidic greens and blues give the scene an unsettling quality, like a dream that’s just a little bit off. Notice how the landscape in the background is rendered with these soft, hazy strokes, almost like a stage set. But then, in the foreground, the details become sharper, more defined. It creates a tension between the real and the imagined. The mark that really gets me is the clean arc described by the axe, which makes you feel the force of the blow. Hawk's figures always feel very contemporary, and the scene reminds me a little of Paula Rego’s reinterpretations of fairy tales, where the familiar stories become vehicles for exploring darker, more complex emotions. Art is always talking to art, right? It’s a never-ending conversation.