Snow Angels 2022

Zoe Hawk’s painting, Snow Angels, presents us with an enigmatic scene rendered in oil. The artist constructs a seemingly innocent tableau of young women enjoying a snowy landscape, yet there's an unsettling quiet, a contained tension that hints at more complex narratives. Hawk’s work often explores themes of girlhood and adolescence, set against backdrops that blend the mundane with the surreal. In Snow Angels, the figures are cloaked in matching coats, their activities ranging from making snow angels to gathering twigs, crafting snowballs, and assuming a regal pose with a staff. These actions, seemingly drawn from childhood games, are imbued with an aura of ritual or performance. Are they characters in a play, participants in a secret society, or perhaps figures in a dream? The artist invites us to consider the ways in which young women navigate societal expectations and construct their identities within shared experiences, prompting us to reflect on the hidden dynamics within seemingly simple interactions.