Ever Drifting 2018

Curator: Zoe Hawk's 2018 acrylic painting, "Ever Drifting," presents an intriguing scene. What strikes you first about it? Editor: Well, the immediate impression is one of slightly unsettling placidity. The cool greens and the somber background clash with the almost too-precise figures of these girls. It's dreamlike, but with an undercurrent I can’t quite place. Curator: Indeed. The piece presents five young women in collared dresses and veils, seemingly suspended in a mossy landscape against the dark backdrop of the woods. Hawk's use of acrylic allows for very distinct outlines that highlight these figures. To me, it speaks to how girlhood, specifically its performance, has been idealized in imagery through art history. These subjects seem both natural within this created scene, but also manufactured by it. Editor: I'm drawn to that tension between artifice and something else. Consider the craft involved in making such stark depictions of these figures and setting, especially juxtaposed against such a seemingly whimsical subject matter, this contrast challenges our consumption of innocence. Is this forest a stage for these young actors? How are the girls implicated in the way this landscape operates for display, performance? Curator: Exactly. It's the calculated staging within a supposedly "natural" scene that's compelling. Hawk's method and her engagement with this almost doll-like portrayal, offers critical perspective. Her manipulation of material helps communicate social constructions in a way that's visually arresting and invites scrutiny. Editor: Hawk’s constructed fantasy landscapes encourage the viewer to question not only childhood as idyllic, but to dissect our societal frameworks used in making this idealized imagery so prevalent, it demands a closer look. I am now curious how museums have displayed and presented such ideas, especially ones relating to such depictions of femininity. Curator: I agree, I walked into this conversation simply viewing the artist's process as a technique, and you have given me some insightful reflections to go and analyze deeper. Thank you. Editor: Absolutely! This painting’s complexities only highlight the power that socially conscious analysis wields in informing our interaction with art and institutions.