Zoë Charlton, Those Girls #4, 2013
ZOË CHARLTON
Those Girls #4, 2013
Part of the “Those Girls” series
Collage on paper; dimensions: 20in x 11in. (unframed)
Courtesy of the artist
CURRENTLY ON VIEW: West Study Lounge
Zoë Charlton builds dense sticker collages over figures to reveal the complicated facets of the historical positioning of people’s identity markers as they relate to power, privilege, and desire. The “Those Girls” series was inspired by Pablo Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907), and by suburbia. Charlton explores representations of white supremacy and the American dream in pop culture and art history, delving into the ways these capitalistic ideals limit the aspirations and possibilities for all people within our society. In her “Those Girls” series, Charlton collages stickers of plants, princess castles, and African masks over the heads of mid-century paper dolls—young white girls—to show the ways that they are restricted by their understanding of the world. Every sticker Charlton uses suggests a multitude of history and symbolism. In Those Girls #4, for example, the paper dolls are connected to each other by southern live oak branches, which overtake and form a canopy above their heads. Canopies monopolize the sun while blocking light from plants below, and the live oak is used to symbolize the Old South.
Text written by Rachael Carruthers
Student Committee Selection 2016–2017
Adele H. Stamp Student Union—Center for Campus Life